Microsoft Unifies Exchange and RTC Groups -- Makes Sense

On January 30 Microsoft announced that the Exchange and Real-Time Collaboration (RTC) groups would be merging to form the Unified Communications Group.

This move from Microsoft makes sense. Real-time collaboration technologies such as instant messaging (IM) are gaining popularity as a quick and effective means of communication. Merging both groups is an opportunity to create synergy among the teams.

Exchange 12 will bring VoIP, email, IM, fax, and speech into a single user interface. For many organizations today, these media do not present a single interface for users. For most organizations, it's a separate fax machine, email server, multiple IM accounts, and voicemail box -- all of which require a user to log in separately. (For more about Exchange 12, see our recent report, Exchange 12 Assessment.)

Outlook plus SharePoint Portal Server provide a key example of two good products that don't work as well together as they should. Merging teams that work on similar technologies should enhance the interoperability between product sets. The combination of Exchange and RTC seems like a good example.

Scott Bolser (editor: Richi Jennings)