Microsoft's Got the Communications Industry's Missing Lync

By Erin Monda, TMCnet Contributor

Microsoft (News - Alert) has a new product on the market and its creating some waves – Microsoft Lync.

And as of today, anyone who is interested is able to download a free trial version at http://www.lync.com.

Business customers can join in on the fun as of Dec. 1.

So what is Microsoft Lync? Is it the “missing link?” (Hyuck, hyuck).

Not really – but it may not be far from it. As per Microsoft officials, Lync is a “single platform” capable of integrating instant messaging, presence, audio, video, web conferencing and voice capabilities in order to bring people together in a way that involves various communications methods.

Lync is interfaced to provide all of these options and more in a single package – designed for usage with many of the business products that Microsoft already offers (Office, SharePoint, Exchange).

According to Gurdeep Singh Pall, corporate vice president of the Microsoft Lync & Speech Group, "Lync delivers on our vision to unify all of the modes of modern business communication, giving people a more collaborative, 'in person' experience with features like HD video, conference recording, and social features like status updates and activity feeds. In addition to transforming how people communicate, IT departments are also looking to Lync to evolve their infrastructure and enhance or eliminate their traditional PBX (News - Alert) systems, saving money and saving time."

Saving time and money is important to everyone – which is why Lync is attracting some big name customers right out of the chute. The Estee Lauder Companies Inc., Nikon Corp., France Telecom (News - Alert) and Herrenknecht AG are deploying Lync to help in their communications – all in the name of efficiency.

As per Microsoft officials, Nikon is already reporting a 30 percent increase in productivity since implementing Lync.

"We want to move away from relying on a specific communication tool, like e-mail," said Michiko Noborisaka, general manager of the information system planning department at Nikon Corp. "We need capabilities that free people from the constraints of time and place. Our employees should be able to choose the best communications tools for each scenario they face."

(source: http://it.tmcnet.com/topics/it/articles/118273-microsofts-got-communications-industrys-missing-lync.htm)

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