SAN FRANCISCO—Microsoft Corp. announced a joint marketing and development alliance with Motorola Inc., among other vendors, in an effort to fold various wired and mobile access points into a unified system for enterprise communications.
The overall effort is aimed at combining functions of desktop computing, office PBX phone systems and mobile devices in a field now dubbed “unified communications,” where competitors already crowd the field.
In practical, specific terms, the alliance would link the Moto Q mobile device and Motorola’s HC700 mobile computing devices to Microsoft’s Office Communications Server 2007, allowing communication and collaboration across heterogeneous access networks. The goal is to simplify communications via voice, e-mail, instant messaging and the Internet. Microsoft will also work with Hewlett-Packard Co. for the hardware to realize these integrated systems.
The alliances are expected to deliver new functionality when Microsoft releases Office 2007 in the coming business year, which begins July 1. One specific application being touted is viewing voice mail in an e-mail in-box, or the product’s ability to translate e-mails into voice calls for mobile users.
“The alliance will help us deliver on our unified communications vision, which centers on simplifying how people connect with one another, find information and collaborate in teams regardless of where they are or what devices they’re using,” said Gurdeep Singh Pall, corporate vice president of the Unified Communications Group at Microsoft, which was formed in January. Pall said that the advanced mobility features made possible by the alliance would, for example, allow seamless roaming between different wireless networks and Wi-Fi hot spots.
Microsoft and Motorola will work to integrate Communications Server 2007 and Communicator Mobile with Motorola’s recently launched Motopro Mobility Suite. The technology also will integrate with Motorola’s WSM product, which facilitates handoffs between WAN, LAN and cellular networks.
