Microsoft and Unifi ed Communications
It would be great to be able to say that Microsoft had always planned to be a player in the
presence and unifi ed communications spaces. However, that would be revising history just
a bit. In truth, to an outsider, it appears as though Microsoft made several failed attempts at
getting this type of technology off the ground. Sure, it had MSN Messenger out there for
a long time, but on the corporate side, Mr. Gates was not too successful. In fact, there have
been rumors that during its lifetime, the entire Communications Server product line had
been scrapped, left for dead, but later revived. Although we could discuss earlier Microsoft
products, such as NetMeeting, the fi rst real push into the world of IM and presence came
with Exchange 2000 Enterprise Edition, which included a feature known as the Instant
Messaging Service.
Exchange 2000 and IM
The following paragraphs come directly from the offi cial Exchange 2000 manual:
???Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server Instant Messaging Service offers a fast
and simple way for users on a TCP/IP network to communicate instantly.
Instant Messaging complements e-mail in a way similar to the way telephone
service complements postal mail; however, Instant Messaging
also provides information about whether your contacts are present and
available at their computers when you send a message.
???Users can set their availability status to any of the following: Online,
Invisible, Busy, Be Right Back, Away, On the Phone, Out to Lunch, or
Appear Offl ine.
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