Office Communicator – the next collaboration tool from Microsoft: “Microsoft does seem to have an increasingly integrated strategy for collaboration. The high-level story is very sound and seems to be offering what the end user needs to work effectively in a collaborative environment. The software tools provide a comprehensive range of functions; indeed, many of the functions are actually duplicated in various products which makes life even more complex. Challenges arise when you need an integrated solution – the sheer number of products from different groups in Microsoft instantly complicates the picture hugely. These problems arise largely because of the way that Microsoft is organised into multiple groups around products rather than around the collaboration vision.
While Microsoft will undoubtedly continue to play a leading role in the collaboration software world, it will suffer when compared with other players in this market, such as Oracle and IBM. Both of these organisations have simple coherent messages for the collaboration tools they deliver, even though the functionality is actually provided by multiple pieces of software underneath the covers in both cases.”
Ovum analysis/opinion differs from those of Forrester and Gartner Group when it comes to Microsoft position compared to its main competitors. Nevertheless it is good to that more and more analists have recognised Microsoft’s solution for Communication & Collaboration …
