Leaving aside the heartburn that the EU regulators are causing for Microsoft, I firmly believe that over time Microsoft will emerge as a dominant player in the VoIP arena. If one views voice as merely a feature tied into some other application, then Microsoft, as the dominant player in the applications space, will likely extend this domination into voice. IT vendors have been aligning to deliver integrated solutions to address the workflow requirements for cross-application integration(see the Microsoft-Siebel alliance for example).
It is clear that voice is an element of much of the workflow process the Microsoft-Siebel alliance seeks to address. Think about the workflow associated with claims processing for example, with myriad forms, database access needs, inbound and outbound customer contact and call centers. It will only bve a matter of time before voice is another element integrated in this type of solution.
Now, along comes a small comapny called Interactive Intelligence. These folks have the audacity to offer a free version of thier IP-PBX. I found this quote interesting.
"Most phone systems on the market take a hardware approach to their products. We are a software application that sits on Microsoft and is pre integrated into Microsoft Business Solutions on the company's network."
Also, the Company announced that they were offfering a free version of their software. Microsoft might find this application interesting.
Interactive Intelligence's EIC system runs on the Windows operating system and supports Microsoft Business Solutions applications, such as Great Plains, Solomon and MS CRM. "We are a good solution for a company that has a lot of Microsoft in their environment," says Peggy Gritt, director of product marketing.
Which got me thinking.....what if Microsoft decided that it wanted to provide IP-PBX software for free as an inducement to buy more productivity applications. Hey, Walmart can't be making much on those DVD's, but it sure does keep people coming back for more stuff form Walmart. Now, you don't think that Microsoft would want to leverage thier extensive platform to change the rules of telecom, do you?
Comments