Quite some new information on Unified Communication and a new market analysis of the Webconferencing market over on Forrester.com …
Microsoft Office Live Meeting is a leading Web conferencing product that is available only as a hosted application. It will integrate with Office 2007 and other business productivity apps and line-of-business (LOB) systems as Microsoft adds these integrations. The product also offers strong integration with calendaring and IM, and it provides workers with fast access to collaboration tools. Live Meeting targets enterprise and SMB customers through two Web conferencing hosted editions — Standard and Professional — with support for meetings, training, and events. However, it does not offer advanced functionality like integrated video or full-duplex VoIP. The interface has a familiar look and feel for Microsoft customers, making the product more intuitive for first-time users. The multilevel pricing structure gives customers many options but makes determining the right pricing combination a challenge. The product is part of Microsoft’s Open License volume licensing, with a component that allows customers to obtain licenses through multiple locations from a worldwide reseller channel. In the next release of Live Communications Server, Live Meeting will be offered for the first time as an installed application.
Source : Forrester.com
