Microsoft sets its sights on the UC call center market

Microsoft may be a relative newcomer to Internet telephony, but its name does carry a certain cachet. And when it throws its weight behind a project, there's not too much that can stop it from moving forward. Its announcement [1] earlier this month at VoiceCon Orlando 2008 that it was taking an equity stake in contact center company Aspect Software sent a message that the software giant was expanding its efforts to reach out to call centers on a global basis.
 
The duo said Aspect would integrate the next version of its Unified IP call center software with Microsoft's Office Communications Server 2007, crafting a unified communications server and call center suite. Microsoft hopes it can nudge open some doors of companies already working with Aspect, and position OCS as a major player. The key is the functionality it can bring to the mix, allowing, for example, call center agents to reach out to available experts to help with calls that go beyond the scope of the call center's expertise. Agents will be able to track expert availability, send them an IM, transfer the call or conference it.
 
Microsoft has been slowly expanding its reach into UC interoperability, partnering with a growing number of companies already in the game. Microsoft recently recruited Polycom and Tandberg to its side; the companies have said they'll make their videoconferencing systems work with OCS and Office Communicator, Microsoft's unified communications client application. That means companies using Polycom or Tandberg systems for videoconferencing will be able to talk to others who are using Office Communications Server and Office Communicator. Frost & Sullivan and Nemertes Research recently wrote that Microsoft's OCS now works with 74 percent of all videoconferencing systems and 90 percent of all telephony systems.
 
"Our alliance and the resulting joint solutions are designed to enhance sales, service and support capabilities for organizations of all types and sizes, across many industries. We strongly believe that the combination of Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 and Aspect Unified IP will redefine the way companies interact with their customers," Jim Foy, president and CEO of Aspect, said.
 
Microsoft says its U.S. business is headed in the right direction; revenue year over year for each of the last two quarters has more than doubled. And, its grabbing the kind of clients it needs to make it the industry standard, like Del Monte, Nissan and some 35 percent of the Fortune 500 companies.

For more:
- Microsoft and Aspect partner on call centers Release [2]