The desktop or the network?

After attending Microsoft’s (NSDQ: MSFT) Unified Communications launch last Thursday, I can clearly see why there has been so much buzz about Microsoft's entry into the UC market. The application is slick, and rightly so, no-one can integrate as tightly to the desktop as Microsoft can – after all it is their code. The question becomes is Unified Communications about the desktop (Microsoft’s view) or about the network (Cisco’s view) and really isn’t it all about the applications? The UC solutions that are going to gain market acceptance are the ones that enable users to be more productive by extending the workplace so that people can work when and how they want to work. Productivity enhanced by true anytime, anywhere computing is the holy grail of Unified Communications.


Microsoft has drawn a clear line in the sand in terms of their long standing partnership with Cisco (NSDQ: CSCO), saying publicly how much they value the Cisco relationship, but ultimately, their goal is to dominate the UC market. This makes me wonder if the lack of early adoption to Windows Vista is making them rethink their presence in the OS space. At NetTeks, our early review of Windows Vista, has caused many users to switch other computing platforms over the past six months.

As a dedicated Cisco Silver partner, NetTeks has made a significant investment in learning, understanding and teaching others about Cisco’s Unified Communications offering. Microsoft has done a great job of promoting their products, creating industry buzz about their features but has been very quiet about the backend functionality of Microsoft UC: the call control requires another manufacturers’ PBX to be in place. That’s right – Legacy TDM technology from Nortel and other PBX vendors is being front-ended by Microsoft's UC to create a hybrid approach to this so-called solution. In my mind this just a stall tactic by Microsoft to delay the adoption of UC in order to develop their own call control or potentially acquire a certain Indiana based Windows based PBX developer.

In my opinion, if Microsoft cannot own the space, they won’t play in it, probably the underlying reason why they chose NOT to partner with the clear market leader in the UC space – Cisco.

Now for the local news….
Two of our biggest competitors, and well known Cisco partners were actually sponsors of Microsoft's Boston UC launch event – what does that say about their commitment to Cisco? Not much if you ask me. Spending thousands to support an initiative that so clearly goes against their #1 partner, Cisco, makes me question their dedication.

At the end of the day, none of this really matters. Once the dust settles in the desktop/network war, the name of the game is doing what is in the best interest of the customer. The goal is to create a seamless, pain-free user experience, while at the same time providing a valuable service. The user doesn’t care about who wins – desktop or network, the user doesn’t care about the logo that sits on the device or application, the user doesn’t care about the manufacturers partnerships – what the user cares about is the ability to create greater efficiencies and productivity among their workers, most notably their mobile workers. The user cares about enabling people to work smarter, not harder and finally the user cares about creating a seamless user experience in order to deliver on that promise.

So the Net Perspective is whether you choose a Unified Communications solution from Cisco or Microsoft, I encourage you to clearly articulate your goals, determine what businesses issues you need solved, and decide how to best go about solving them. Sometimes slick technology doesn’t always translate into a positive user experience.