Microsoft 'GETS' Genesys Lab

Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories is proving that the proof is in the pudding.

Back in February, the Alcatel-owned call center solutions company announced a strategic alliance with Microsoft to port its Genesys Enterprise Telephony Software (GETS) onto Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2005 and the Microsoft Office Communicator client. GETS is designed to help Microsoft leverage the reach of its Office product line to extend into telephony services by supporting VOIP (voice over IP) standards such as SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) on either traditional PBX or IP PBX architectures.

"The ability to use either existing PBX or next-generation IP networks means companies can 'future-proof' their technology and, more importantly, their investment," said Mathew Frazer, vice president, Enterprise Solutions Group, Genesys. "Depending on a company's existing structure, we can support them during a migration, for instance from a TDM environment to an IP environment."

And to make sure the GETS/LCS/Communicator platform is ready, Genesys and Microsoft have been trying it out before rolling it out to the rest of the world. According to published reports, Microsoft is set to quietly launch a new beta version of the Office Communicator -- code-named "Istanbul" -- on July 15.

In a press statement issued Monday, Genesys announced that Microsoft deployed the collaboration solution across 40,000 desktops at its Redmond campus in early May. Genesys reported that there are already 20,000 active users that can collaborate on the platform, access availability and presence information, and seamlessly control phone functionality via the computer.

No other customers for GETS/LCS/Communicator (on Istanbul) have been announced yet. But a company spokesperson promises: "Stay tuned!"

"Microsoft's internal deployment of this solution, utilizing GETS ... is already generating productivity benefits, and user feedback has been very positive for this feature," said Marc Sanders, senior product manager, Real-Time Collaboration, at Microsoft. "Our employees say the telephony-enabled solution allows them to work more productively and to take greater advantage of real-time collaboration within their existing productivity and collaboration applications."

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Robert Liu is executive editor at TMCnet. Previously, he was executive editor at Jupitermedia and has also written for CNN, A&E, Dow Jones and Bloomberg. For more articles by Robert Liu, please click here.

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