Microsoft Lync

Even more notable than the 30% of survey respondents who said they were going to move to Microsoft Lync (formerly Office Communications Server) within the first 12 months of availability were the 23% who already had a non-MSFT UC solution deployed but were still looking strongly at the new offering.

So why the interest? Azaleos credits the single client approach that unifies all aspects of Lync into an interface that makes calling as easy as instant messaging, a lower physical hardware requirement (Basic Lync configurations only require one physical server; OCS 2007 deployments required four), and the ability to run Lync Server in virtualized environments and cut down on TCO.

A quick reality check: the official survey results will be released and discussed in an Azaleos-hosted webcast on November 10, but until then we don’t know too much about the parameters of the survey.

Microsoft Lync is already accruing a fanbase in the IT world, and as a Microsoft partner Azaleos stands to profit if Redmond’s delivering another hit. But will this enthusiasm carry over into real-world UC sales?

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