Cisco and Microsoft have an established history of cooperating across technologies to provide customers with innovative business solutions. In the area of unified communications, the two companies are interoperating to help joint customers deliver inclusive and business-transforming communications solutions using services and applications from each company.
Although Cisco and Microsoft have distinct approaches to unified communications, these approaches are complementary, intersecting at the user-experience level. Both companies are committed to making real-time collaboration a transparent and effective experience for customers and partners. To help achieve this goal, Cisco and Microsoft actively participate together in open-standards working groups, such as the IETF. Developers from both companies also meet regularly to discuss current integration efforts and to define future areas of integration.
Unified Communications
Cisco® Unified Communications solutions unify voice, video, data, and mobile applications on fixed and mobile networks, delivering an easy-to-use, media-rich collaboration experience across business, government agency, and institutional workspaces. These applications use the network as the platform for enhancing competitive advantage by accelerating decision time and reducing transaction time. The security, resilience, and scalability of the network enable users in any workspace to connect - everywhere, every time, so everyone's included.
The main components of Cisco Unified Communications Solutions include call processing, presence, voicemail and unified messaging, video, conferencing and collaboration, mobility, security, unified clients, and contact center services and applications. Table 1 lists unified communications products both companies offer.
Table 1. Cisco and Microsoft Unified Communications Products
Unified Communications Components
Cisco
Microsoft
Call processing
Cisco Unified Communications Manager
Cisco Unified Communications Manager Business Edition
Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express
Cisco Unified Communications 500 Series for Small Business
Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007
IP phones
Cisco Unified IP Phone 7900G low- to high-end wired and wireless phones
Third-party original equipment manufacturer (OEM) based on Microsoft specification
Presence
Cisco Unified Presence
Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007
Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2005
Unified client
Cisco Unified Personal Communicator
(PC and Mac)
Microsoft Office Communicator 2007
Microsoft Live Communications Server 2005
Conferencing and collaboration
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace® conferencing
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express
Cisco WebEx® meeting applications
Cisco WebEx Connect
Microsoft Office Live Meeting and Office Communications Server 2007
Video
Cisco Unified Video Advantage
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace and MeetingPlace Express conferencing
Cisco Unified Videoconferencing
Cisco WebEx meeting applications
Cisco TelePresence
Microsoft Office Communications Server
Microsoft Office Live Meeting
Microsoft RoundTable
Voicemail and unified messaging
Cisco Unity® unified messaging
Cisco Unity Connection
Cisco Unity Express
Cisco Unified Messaging Gateway
Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 for Unified Messaging
Contact center
Cisco Unified Contact Center
Cisco Unified Contact Center Express
None
Mobility
Cisco Unified Mobility
Cisco Unified CallConnector Mobility
Microsoft Windows Mobile
Mobile client
Cisco Unified Mobile Communicator
(Blackberry, Symbian, and Windows Mobile)
Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile
Groupware
WebEx WebOffice
WebEx Connect
Microsoft Office SharePoint
Microsoft Office Groove
Microsoft Office Live
Secure network foundation
Cisco ASA 5500 Series Adaptive Security Appliances
Cisco Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) Cisco VPN solutions
Cisco Secure Access Control Server (ACS)
Cisco Security Agent
Cisco Network Admission Control (NAC)
Cisco integrated services routers with quality of service (QoS)
Cisco Catalyst® switches with Power over Ethernet (PoE)
None
Email and directory services
None
Microsoft Exchange
Microsoft Active Directory
Cisco Unified Communications Interoperability with Microsoft
Cisco offers several categories of unified communications interoperability with Microsoft:
• Cisco IP Telephony with Microsoft: If you want to use your Cisco Unified Communications Manager investments with Microsoft technologies, Cisco offers click-to-call capabilities from Microsoft Office Communicator, Microsoft desktop productivity applications, and Windows Mobile handsets. With native simultaneous ringing capabilities of Cisco Unified Communications Manager, you can answer incoming calls on either Microsoft Office Communicator or your Cisco Unified IP Phone. In addition, you can enable Cisco Unified Communications Manager and Cisco Unified Communications Manager Business Edition to interoperate with Microsoft Exchange 2007 as a companion unified messaging solution.
• Cisco Presence with Microsoft: Cisco also offers interoperability through Cisco Unified Presence and Cisco Unified Communications Manager so you can view the presence status of Cisco Unified IP Phone users directly in the Microsoft Office Communicator client. Business-to-business federation between Cisco Unified Presence and Microsoft Live Communications or Office Communications Server facilitates ongoing collaboration between businesses. With Cisco Unified Personal Communicator, you can add Microsoft Office Communicator users in other businesses to your buddy list, view their presence status, and securely exchange instant messages for ongoing collaboration.
• Cisco Messaging with Microsoft: For unified or integrated messaging with Microsoft Exchange email, Cisco offers three proven enterprise-class solutions. Cisco Unity facilitates unified messaging with Microsoft Exchange so you can manage all email, voice, and fax messages in a single inbox. Cisco Unity Connection is an integrated messaging solution that offers access to voice messages from a Microsoft Outlook folder but requires less time and effort to deploy. And Cisco Unity Express provides integrated messaging with Microsoft Outlook for up to 250 users - ideal for small enterprises or branch offices.
• Cisco Conferencing and Collaboration with Microsoft: For conferencing and collaboration with Microsoft, Cisco offers the ability to schedule Cisco Unified MeetingPlace, Cisco WebEx, and Cisco TelePresence meetings directly from Microsoft Outlook. For real-time collaboration, you can initiate impromptu Cisco Unified MeetingPlace and Cisco WebEx meetings directly from Microsoft Office Communicator and use its presence and instant messaging capabilities. In addition, Cisco WebEx Connect also facilitates asynchronous collaboration by bringing together data from different sources (such as Microsoft Outlook and SharePoint) into one place.
• Cisco Contact Center with Microsoft: The Cisco Unified CallConnector for Microsoft Dynamics CRM integrates Cisco Unified Communications with the Microsoft Dynamics CRM application at the desktop, without the need for additional hardware. It provides greater employee productivity and organizational efficiencies, immediate information about inbound and outbound calls, fast and easy click-to-dial functions from customer-relationship-management (CRM) database records, and call-duration tracking, information capture, and record creation.
• Cisco Network with Microsoft: Cisco integrated services routers (ISR) and Cisco Catalyst switches provide the ideal foundation for delivering unified communications applications for secure business-class, real-time communications and collaboration. Cisco integrated services routers are Microsoft-certified gateways for Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 deployments.
Cisco IP Telephony with Microsoft
The interoperability between Cisco Unified Communications and Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2007 delivers enhanced functions to Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 users and can help your organization benefit from media-rich features inherent in the Cisco Unified Communications Solution:
• Initiate a phone call from one Cisco Unified IP Phone to another directly from Microsoft Office Communicator.
• Escalate instant messaging sessions to voice conversations by clicking the phone icon and then clicking "Call." This action rings both Cisco Unified IP Phones. You can initiate this feature from an instant messaging chat session in progress or directly from the contact list.
• Redirect calls to mobile phones.
• Use Microsoft Office Communicator to accept incoming calls on a Cisco Unified IP Phone
• View incoming call notifications on your computer, with options to click to answer or click to divert when calls are place to Cisco Unified IP Phones.
• Access phone feature controls from Microsoft Office Communicator, including hang up, hold, and transfer.
• Benefit from the core capabilities of Cisco Unified Communications Manager or Cisco Unified Communications Manager Business Edition, including digit translation and routing, billing and recording, call screening and privacy, Call Admission Control (CAC) and quality-of-service (QoS) capabilities, signaling and media security capabilities, and numerous enhanced call-control services.
Figure 1 shows how to initiate a call using Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 and Cisco Unified Communications Manager
Figure 1.
Click-to-Call Dialing and Third-Party Call Control of Cisco Unified IP Phones Using Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 and Cisco Unified Communications Manager
Figure 2 shows how incoming calls to Cisco Unified IP Phones can be managed from Microsoft Office Communicator 2007:
Figure 2. Incoming Call Management for Calls Directed to Cisco Unified IP Phones from Microsoft Office Communicator 2007
1. A call is placed to a Cisco Unified IP Phone. Immediately, an incoming call notification message appears within Microsoft Office Communicator.
2. You can accept the call by clicking the message or divert the message to another number by selecting "Redirect" and choosing the number to receive the call.
Figure 3 shows how Microsoft Office Communicator manages calls to Cisco Unified IP Phones. During an active call, you can simply click to hang up, hold, or transfer calls on your Cisco Unified IP Phone.
Figure 3. Incoming Call Management for Calls Directed to Cisco Unified IP Phones from Microsoft Office Communicator 2007
Table 2 lists the solution components.
Table 2. Solution Components
Cisco
Microsoft
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager 5.1(2) or later (including Business Edition)
• Cisco Unified Presence 6.0(4) or later
• Cisco Unified IP Phones
• Cisco IP Communicator and Cisco Unified Video Advantage (optional)
• Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007
• Microsoft Office Communicator 2007*
• Microsoft Server 2003, Microsoft Server 2003 Active Directory, Microsoft Server 2003 Domain Name Service (DNS), and Microsoft SQL Server 2000, if using Microsoft Office Communications Server 2005 Enterprise Edition
* Microsoft Live Communications Server (LCS) 2005 support is also available with Cisco Unified Communications Manager 5.0(4)+ and Cisco Unified Presence 1.0(2)+.
In the first half of 2009, Cisco also plans to support its proven enterprise softphone and phone control technology integrated with the presence and instant messaging capabilities of Microsoft Office Communicator. This support will make it easy for you to place, receive, and manage calls with the benefits of Cisco centralized call processing and tight integration with the network (for example, CAC and QoS capabilities, enhanced call-control services, standards-based conferencing, digit translation and routing, and billing). Cisco also plans to provide a simpler, more robust architecture compared to the complexity of maintaining and supporting call processing in both Cisco Unified Communications Manager and Microsoft Office Communications Server (for example, in a simultaneous ring scenario discussed below).
Native simultaneous ringing capabilities of Cisco Unified Communications Manager 7.0, allows Microsoft Office Communicator users to answer incoming Cisco Unified Communications Manager calls on either Office Communicator or Cisco Unified IP Phones. In addition to any other alternate destination number associated with Cisco Unified IP Phone user, an inbound call to your Cisco Unified IP Phone simultaneously rings your Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 client - allowing you to answer business calls from your PC when you are away from your primary workspace. Business calls extended and answered on Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 continue to remain anchored in Cisco Unified Communications Manager, taking advantage of its rich centralized call-processing capabilities for the duration of the call.
In addition, as a subset of simultaneous ringing capabilities, a standards-based direct Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunk connection is also supported between Cisco Unified Communications Manager and Microsoft Office Communications mediation server. Although such a deployment increases system management overhead associated with managing multiple dial plans, it offers your business the option to support basic intracompany telephony capabilities (such as call transfer and call forwarding) between Cisco Unified IP Phone and Microsoft Office Communicator users within the same business.
Table 3 lists solution components.
Table 3. Solution Components
Cisco
Microsoft
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager 7.0 or later (including Business Edition) with Cisco Unified Mobility*
• Microsoft Office Communicator 2007
• Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007
*Cisco Unified Communications Manager 6.1 also supports Direct SIP connectivity with Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007
For organizations using Cisco Unified Personal Communicator, Cisco IP Telephony with Microsoft enables click-to-call capabilities directly from Microsoft Outlook 2003 or 2007 using a Microsoft Outlook toolbar (Figure 4) for Cisco Unified Personal Communicator. This toolbar enables click-to-call capabilities from Microsoft Outlook contacts and email. With Microsoft Outlook you can save time and respond swiftly to queries by using the toolbar to initiate a call with Cisco Unified Personal Communicator. You do not need to manually enter a number; simply click with the mouse to communicate with anyone in your contacts list.
Figure 4. Microsoft Outlook Toolbar for Cisco Unified Personal Communicator
Cisco Unified Personal Communicator also enables you to display free and busy availability information based on your Microsoft Outlook calendar. For example, an appointment or meeting in the calendar automatically changes your presence status to busy, eliminating the need to manually update availability information when joining a meeting. Automatically maintaining availability and status information helps you keep your presence information up-to-date at all times and makes collaboration more efficient.
Table 4 gives solution components.
Table 4. Solution Components
Cisco
Microsoft
• Cisco Unified Personal Communicator 1.2 or later
• Cisco Unified Presence 6.0 or later
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager 5.0 or later, or Cisco Unified Communications Manager Business Edition
• Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 or 2003
• Microsoft Outlook 2007 or 2003
With the introduction of Click to Call (a free-to-download Cisco Unified Communications Widget for PCs), you can instantly place Cisco Unified Communications Manager calls directly from your Microsoft desktop applications and web browsers - without having to use the dial pad key on your Cisco Unified IP Phone. You do not need Microsoft Office Communications Server to take advantage of this capability (Figure 5).
Click to Call uses Cisco Unified Communications Manager WebDialer service to provide the following capabilities through your Cisco Unified IP Phone:
• Simply highlight phone numbers and click to call from Microsoft Office, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft SharePoint, Internet Explorer, and Mozilla Firefox.
• Click to call from the Persona Menu (a commonly used rapid contact information lookup capability available to Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft SharePoint) to call one of the phone numbers associated with your contact list.
• Edit phone numbers before placing international calls, dial a co-worker's extension, or place a call outside the enterprise to contact business partners and customers.
• View the history of the last 10 calls made from your Click to Call application from the System Tray Menu and click to call previously dialed numbers.
Figure 5. Cisco Unified Communications Widget for PC - Click to Call
Table 5 lists the solution components.
Table 5. Solution Components
Cisco
Microsoft
• Cisco Unified Communications
Manager 6.0 and later (including Cisco Unified Communications Manager Business Edition )
• Click to Call application - a Cisco Unified Communications widget for PCs
• Cisco Unified IP Phones that support Cisco Unified Communications Manager WebDialer service
• Microsoft Windows XP (SP2) and Vista
• Internet Explorer 6.0 and 7.0
• Mozilla Firefox 1.5 and 2.0
• Microsoft Outlook 2003 and 2007
• Microsoft SharePoint 2003 and 2007
• Microsoft Office:
• Word 2003 and 2007
• Excel 2003 and 2007
• PowerPoint 2003
With Cisco Unified Mobile Communicator 7.0 for Windows Mobile, your business can extend rich Cisco Unified Communications experiences to your mobile workers using Windows Mobile handsets (Figure 6). With Cisco Unified Mobile Communicator 7.0 for Windows Mobile handsets, your employees can:
• Access current company and personal directory information from everywhere in real time
• View busy or available status of colleagues
• Securely exchange text messages with colleagues
• View a list of messages on the "visual voicemail" display and select one to play back
• Receive and play back Cisco Unity voice messages on their mobile handset
• Access recent call histories for any of their phones on mobile handsets
In addition, Cisco Unified Mobile Communicator 7.0 for Windows Mobile handsets also allows your business to extend rich calling capabilities of Cisco Unified Communications Manager to an increasing mobile workforce. With Cisco Unified Mobile Communicator 7.0, you can simply click to place calls through Cisco Unified Communications Manager to customers, partners, and co-workers directly from your Windows Mobile handset (Figure 6).
Figure 6. Dial via Office with Cisco Unified Mobile Communicator 7.0 for Windows Mobile Handsets
Table 6 lists solution components.
Table 6. Solution Components
Cisco
Microsoft
• Cisco Unified Mobile Communicator 7.0 (or later) for Windows Mobile
• Cisco Unified Mobility Advantage 7.0 (or later)
• Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.0 (on a supported handset)
Finally, the SIP standards implemented in Cisco IP telephony solutions enable interoperability with Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and Cisco Unified Communications Manager or Cisco Unified Communications Manager Business Edition. Cisco Unified Communications Manager and Cisco Unified Communications Manager Business Edition currently offer standards-based SIP interoperability with Microsoft Exchange 2007. This interoperability simplifies installation and reduces the overall solution cost by eliminating the need for third-party gateways and software. To interoperate with non-SIP, older, or nonintegrated telephony systems or with IP private branch exchanges (IP PBXs), Microsoft Exchange 2007 requires a third-party gateway that can receive and correctly forward incoming calls to the unified messaging server. For message-waiting indicator capability (capability to light the message lamp on the phone) and Short Message Service (SMS) notification, third-party software from Geomant is required when using Microsoft Exchange Server 2007.
Table 7 lists solution components.
Table 7. Solution Components
Cisco
Microsoft
Cisco Unified Communications Manager 5.1 or later, or Cisco Unified Communications Business Edition
Microsoft Exchange Server 2007
Cisco Presence with Microsoft
The interoperability between Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Cisco Unified Communications Manager Business Edition, Cisco Unified Presence, and Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 allows you to view Cisco Unified IP Phone presence information (such as "in a call" or "idle") in Microsoft Office Communicator 2007. You can see whether or not the person you are trying to reach is on a Cisco Unified IP Phone, helping you determine the most appropriate form of contact.
Figures 7 and 8 show the Cisco Unified IP Phone presence display and the change of presence information when you make a call.
Figure 7. Display of Cisco Unified IP Phone Presence Information on Microsoft Office Communicator 2007
Figure 8. Cisco Unified IP Phone Presence Changes from "Available" to "In a Call" in Microsoft Office Communicator 2007
Figures 9 and 10 show presence-aware speed dialing, call logs, and directory on Cisco Unified IP Phones.
Figure 9. Presence-Aware Speed Dialing
Figure 10. Presence-Aware Call Logs and Directory
Table 8 lists the solution components.
Table 8. Solution Components
Cisco
Microsoft
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager 5.1 or later (including Cisco Unified Communications Manager Business Edition)
• Cisco Unified Presence 6.0.2 or later
• Cisco Unified IP Phones or Cisco IP Communicator
• Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007
• Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 **
• Microsoft Server 2003, Microsoft Server 2003 Active Directory, Microsoft Server 2003 Domain Name Service (DNS), and Microsoft SQL Server 2000, if using Microsoft Office Communications Server 2005 Enterprise Edition
** LCS 2005 support is also available with Cisco Unified Communications Manager 5.0(4)+ and Cisco Unified Presence 1.0(2)+.
In addition, Cisco Unified Presence supports business-to-business federation that enables policy-based interconnection between different enterprises to enable them to securely exchange instant messages and presence information. With introduction of Cisco Unified Presence 7.0, Cisco supports business-to-business federation with Microsoft Live Communications Server (LCS) 2005 and Microsoft Office Communications Server (OCS) 2007. This capability allows Cisco Unified Personal Communicator 7.0 users in one business to add a Microsoft Office Communicator user in another business to their buddy list, view their presence status, and exchange instant messages for ongoing collaboration.
Table 9 lists solution components.
Table 9. Solution Components
Cisco
Microsoft
• Cisco Unified Presence 7.0 or later
• Cisco Unified Personal Communicator 7.0 or later
• Microsoft Live Communications Server 2005
• Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007
Cisco Messaging with Microsoft
The Cisco Unity solution portfolio provides voice, integrated, and unified messaging options that transparently integrate with Microsoft Exchange. Cisco Unity, Cisco Unity Connection, and Cisco Unity Express applications support Microsoft Exchange.
Support for mixed deployments of voice, integrated, and unified messaging and for different versions of Microsoft Exchange Server provides a cost-effective migration path to unified messaging.
Cisco Unity unified messaging users benefit from the simplicity of having email, voice, and fax messages in their Microsoft Outlook inbox and from the advanced options of the Cisco Unity solution, which scales to meet the needs of large organizations, including the following:
• Alternative device recognition: The Cisco Unity solution automatically recognizes alternative devices (such as mobile phones) when accessing the system, streamlining access.
• Secure messaging: You can retrieve encrypted voice messages only through authorized clients connected to the network; authorized clients also can configure the message expiration date.
• Message monitoring: You can listen to and pick up your calls while a message is being recorded.
• Cisco Unity ViewMail for Microsoft Outlook: You can play, compose, and respond to voice messages from within Microsoft Outlook. You also can play back messages on your Cisco Unified IP Phone or mobile phone (Figure 11).
• Cisco Unity Visual Message Locator: You can view, sort, search, and play back voice messages from your Cisco Unified IP Phone display. .
With Cisco Unity Connection - a feature-rich messaging platform for enterprises providing voicemail, integrated messaging, speech recognition, and streamlined installation and management - and Microsoft Outlook, you can access and manage your voice messages in an Outlook folder through Internet Access Message Protocol (IMAP) integration with Microsoft Exchange. Similar to Cisco Unity messaging, Cisco Unity Connection also offers the ViewMail for Microsoft Outlook player, secure messaging and numerous enterprise-class features.
In addition, Cisco Unity Express - which provides cost-effective voicemail, integrated messaging, interactive voice response (IVR), and Automated-Attendant services for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and enterprise branch offices - also enables you to view and manage your voice messages from a folder in Microsoft Outlook.
Figure 11. Microsoft Outlook and Cisco Unity ViewMail for Microsoft Outlook
Table 10 lists solution components.
Table 10. Solution Components
Cisco
Microsoft
• Cisco Unity 5.0 and 7.0 ** (for unified messaging)
• Cisco Unity Express 3.2 and 7.0 (for integrated messaging)
• Microsoft Exchange Server 2000, 2003, or 2007 (for unified or integrated messaging with Cisco Unity unified messaging)
• Microsoft Outlook 2000, 2002 (XP), 2003, or 2007 (for integrated messaging with Cisco Unity Connection)
• Microsoft Outlook 2000, 2002, 2003, or 2007 and Microsoft Outlook Express 6.0 (for integrated messaging with Cisco Unity Express)
** Cisco Unity 4.2 and Cisco Unity Connection 1.2 support Microsoft Exchange 2000 and 2003.
Cisco Conferencing and Collaboration with Microsoft
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Conferencing
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace conferencing has multiple solution options that can help your organization simplify the user experience and system management by integrating with a Microsoft environment. Cisco Unified MeetingPlace for Microsoft Outlook makes it simple to set up and attend integrated voice, video, and web conferences directly from an Outlook calendar (Figure 12). Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express also integrates with Outlook.
To set up a Cisco Unified MeetingPlace rich-media conference, a meeting organizer simply checks the "Make this a MeetingPlace meeting" box on the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace tab of the Outlook meeting request form. When the organizer sends the meeting invitations, Cisco Unified MeetingPlace for Microsoft Outlook reserves resources on the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace system and provides Outlook with all the meeting information to send to invitees. After successfully setting up the meeting on the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace system, Outlook sends the meeting invitation with the meeting attendance information. If the organizer needs to change the meeting time, the organizer can simply make the change in Outlook; the associated conference will be automatically rescheduled.
Figure 12. Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Scheduling in Microsoft Outlook
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace for Microsoft Outlook makes it easy to join a meeting by providing simple point-and-click attendance options. At the time of the meeting, the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace tab includes a Connect Me button with options for connecting to the voice, web, and video portions of the conference. Clicking this button automatically dials out to the user's telephone (or video system) and simultaneously connects the user's browser to the web conference. This degree of simplicity helps meetings start on time so users are ready to be productive instead of spending valuable time struggling with the video remote control or connecting into separate voice and web systems.
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Directory Services integrates with Microsoft Active Directory to simplify administration, enhance security, and improve the user experience by providing an automated means for creating and updating Cisco Unified MeetingPlace user databases.
Additionally, the integration of the rich-media conferencing capabilities of Cisco Unified MeetingPlace conferencing with the presence and text messaging capabilities of Microsoft Office Live Communications Server and Office Communicator allows you to establish Cisco Unified MeetingPlace conferences directly from the Microsoft Office Communicator 2005 client and quickly escalate instant messaging sessions to audio conferences.
The conferencing features of the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace solution are simple point-and-click options that are accessible from Microsoft Office Communicator. Figure 13 shows a Microsoft Office Communicator user escalating an instant message chat session to a Cisco Unified MeetingPlace conference session by clicking the Conference button on the toolbar. The invitees see a dialog box, where they can click the Go button to have the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace application dial the user's phone and connect that user to the audio conference.
Figure 13. Initiating a Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Conference Using Microsoft Office Communicator
Table 11 lists the solution components.
Table 11. Solution Components
Cisco
Microsoft
• Cisco Unified MeetingPlace 6.0 or later (Launch and control Cisco Unified MeetingPlace voice conferences from Microsoft Office Communicator.)
• Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Microsoft Integration Package 5.4 or later (Set up and attend Cisco Unified MeetingPlace meetings from Microsoft Outlook **.)
• Microsoft Office Communicator 2005 and Microsoft Live Communications Server 2005
• Microsoft Outlook 2003 or 2007 and Microsoft Exchange 2000/2003/2007 supported for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace.
** Outlook integration is also available for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express Versions 2.0 and1.2; support for Microsoft Exchange 2007 is planned for a maintenance release of Cisco Unified MeetingPlace 7.0.
Cisco WebEx Meeting Applications
Scheduling a WebEx meeting is just like scheduling any other meeting using Microsoft Outlook. With a simple click, meeting hosts can schedule, invite users, and start meetings directly from their Outlook calendar. This integration eliminates the need to book meetings on the web or maintain separate schedules. When it is time to join a meeting, attendees simply click the calendar or the email link (Figure 14).
Figure 14. Schedule WebEx Meetings in Microsoft Outlook
Table 12 lists solution components.
Table 12. Solution Components
Cisco WebEx
Microsoft
• Meeting Center, Training Center, Event Center, and Sales Center
• Available today with WebEx Business Suite 23 or later
• Microsoft Outlook 2000 or later
Microsoft Office Communicator and Windows Messenger users also can benefit from WebEx interoperability. Meeting hosts can start, invite people, and join meetings directly from the Microsoft Office Communicator or Windows Messenger applications (Figure 15).
Figure 15. Schedule WebEx Meetings Using Microsoft Office Communicator
With one click, hosts can invite contacts into a WebEx meeting. The attendee simply clicks a URL in the chat message to join the meeting, eliminating the cumbersome process of going to a website to start and invite attendees into WebEx meetings (Figure 16).
Figure 16. Escalate Instant Messaging Sessions into WebEx Meetings
Table 13 lists the solution components.
Table 13. Solution Components
Cisco WebEx
Microsoft
• Meeting Center, Support Center, Training Center, and Sales Center
• Available with WebEx Business Suite 26
• Microsoft Office Communicator 2005 or later
Additionally, you can easily start WebEx meetings from any Microsoft Office application (Figure 17). There is no need to leave the application in which you are working to start a meeting. Hosts can invite attendees using the WebEx One-Click "Invite to Meeting" function.
Figure 17. Start WebEx Meetings from Any Microsoft Office Application
WebEx One-Click desktop integration enables you to start and join WebEx meetings instantly, right from your desktop task bar (Figure 18). Benefits to this convenient integration include the ability to start an instant meeting from the desktop (eliminating the need to log onto the WebEx site) and join any meeting from the WebEx site from the desktop. All you need is the meeting host's email address. You can integrate your Outlook Global Address Book and personal contacts with WebEx applications to easily send meeting invitations to attendees inside or outside the company.
Figure 18. Start Cisco WebEx Meetings from Your Windows Desktop
