Microsoft Drags a Dead Dog to the Mobile UC FightMicrosoft Drags a Dead Dog to the Mobile UC Fight

Microsoft's OCS 2007 Release 2 has a bunch of features that it hopes will make it a somewhat less deficient PBX offering, but the advances on the mobility front don't mount up to much. For now their best hope for a mobile OCS deployment seem to involve someone else's mobile device and someone else's PBX.

As mobility is typically the window-dressing on any UC announcement, I can usually wait a couple of days before commenting. Microsoft's OCS 2007 Release 2 has a bunch of features that it hopes will make it a somewhat less deficient PBX offering, but the advances on the mobility front don't mount up to much. For now their best hope for a mobile OCS deployment seem to involve someone else's mobile device and someone else's PBX.Microsoft has been offering a version of Office Communicator that operates on mobile devices. Unfortunately, Office Communicator Mobile only operates on the ever-awkward Windows Mobile operating system; that is a major deficiency for any mobile application. In applications like dual mode fixed-mobile convergence where there is a choice between Windows Mobile and Nokia's S/60 that runs on devices like the sleek E71, Nokia wins hands down. Of course in the eyes of the enterprise user, Blackberry leaves both of those options in the dust.

When you cut through the haze, Microsoft will now support simultaneous ring/extension-to-cellular for single number reach, but that's table stakes in the mobile UC game. For mobile originated calls they can now do 4-digit dialing along with the ability to route calls through the PBX; that latter trick is an essential capability for controlling ownership of the business telephone numbers.

However, the thing that really counts for mobile users is devices, and in that regard, Microsoft is still lagging behind. They announced support for the Nokia S/40 operating system, but that's the operating system Nokia uses on basic cell phones, not smartphones like the E- or N-Series. They also announced support for Motorola's antiquated RAZR- they should light up the disco ball for that one. Blackberry is on the list, but that client doesn't support single number reach. So the most desirable handset doesn't support the most basic feature that makes mobile UC desirable.

A user can still get workable mobile access to OCS using someone else's PBX and someone else's mobile client, but I don't think that's what Microsoft was aiming for. In any event, it's nice to see that they're doing something in Redmond. However, if they're thinking that a few lame PBX features are going to make Windows Mobile attractive, they'd better realize: that dog won't hunt!Microsoft's OCS 2007 Release 2 has a bunch of features that it hopes will make it a somewhat less deficient PBX offering, but the advances on the mobility front don't mount up to much. For now their best hope for a mobile OCS deployment seem to involve someone else's mobile device and someone else's PBX.