IM is cool?
I've long been an advocate for Instant Messaging, both for personal as well as professional purposes. Back in the mid '90s I used ICQ for chatting with my family online. Then as time went by migrated from service to service.
I've even tried to setup an ICQ group server and a Jabber Server with limited success at various companies. When Microsoft introduced Corporate IM with Exchange Server 2000, I jumped at it. What a great deal. Easy to setup and integrated with Windows Messenger. then they dropped it in favor of Live Communications Server 2003. What were they thinking?!?! I loaded it up as part of Action Pack, and set it up on our network. It works ok, but no different than the old Exchange 2000 integrated one. Then LC2K5 came out. I'll try that...sure enough it loaded up just fine, but I still am not seeing any great big wow factor. Now I learn that Microsoft is merging it back into Exchange for 12.
On another note, what's up with Communicator Web Access and Office Communicator? CWA, I set it up, and it can't log people onto the LC server. I am sure that if I took the time to read the 200+ page setup manual I could get it to work, but that goes against everything I believe in. If I wanted load balancing and some of the more advanced features that larger enterprises might want out of IM, I'ld take that time to read it, but, really!!! for 3 or 4 people, it should just setup, without a hitch, until then, can I really recommend that someone invest in this over a free IM setup? Then there's Office Communicator. I got the Live Communications Server 2003 and 2005 as part of Action Pack, however no instructions on how to get ahold of Office Communicator. What's up with that?
We operate primarily in the small and micro business environment. As much as we'ld like to recommend LC and Office Communicator to small businesses, I can't see the value in it over a Free IM solution. Sure they get to share their conversations with the IM world, but then they don't have to pay for federation for the right to talk to their customers or suppliers who may use Google Talk, MSN, Yahoo IM or AOL IM. Sure they loose some security, but the costs for Small Businesses to get this technology, which should be simple, easy, and relatively cheap, currently are too great to overcome. In a space where there is so much competition, it seems like Microsoft is ignoring the one space that they really need to be courting, the one space they are catering to with every other technology. I hope they solve some of these issues.
Daily I talk to customers who want the IM integrated with Office, Outlook, and Sharepoint, but by the time we add up costs, simply for the IM piece, we loose their interest. With Small Business Server premium edition, they should include a 'Small Business LC server' in a similar manner to the WSS/companyweb that comes with SBS. It's not full Sharepoint, but it gives a small business the ability to get hooked on it, and wanting additional features. They sure could do likewise with IM. Perhaps even go so far as to pre-configure Communicator Web Access as part of the SBS Wizards. Now that would be cool!!!