Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 streamlines communications, provides flexible control and provides an extensible communications platform.
Streamline communications: call management to handle and route large volumes of incoming calls. Executives can delegate complete management of phone calls to assistants. Desktop-sharing allows cross-platform collaboration, with voice and video conferencing capabilities. Group Chat provides persistant topical chat rooms, allowing geographically disperse teams to collaborate and share knowledge.
Flexibility and control: on-premise audio conferencing allows IT departments to control the communications infrastructure, while reducing audio and video conferencing costs. Single number reach allows one number to reach multiple devices, ensuring that dial rules apply to both desktop and mobile calls. Video monitoring allows IT departments to monitor the quality of conferences, making adjustments where necessary. SIP-trunking support removes the need to manage on-premise gateways.
Extensibility: automate processes using IMs, voice and e-mail workflows, using established development tools such as Visual Studio 2008. The Agent Dashboard for Microsoft Dynamics CRM provides call centre agents with the ability to see presence and click-to-call from within the Dynamics CRM environment.
OCS R2 New Features
- Instant Messaging and Presence
- Improved user interface for Office Communicator.
- Support for dial-in audio conferencing, removing the need for external conferencing provider(s).
- Desktop sharing within Communicator for quick and easy sharing requirements.
- Does not use the Live Meeting client.
- Better quality voice, and less susceptibility to keyboard noise due to improvements to RTAudio.
- New devices with softer design, and improved functionality.
- e.g., full-size speaker phones and a USB device with small screen and dial-pad allowing phone use when the PC is locked.
- Much better Tanjay handset experience.
- Click-to-call allows handset to be used as a phone for call initiated from PC.
- Login to phone via Communicator on the PC, allowing for an easier end-user experience.
- Communicator Attendant Console
- Rich-presence in contact lists and groups.
- Consultative and blind transfers.
- Delegation allowing manager/assistant call control.
- Response Groups and Automatic Call Distribution
- Interactive voice response, speech recognition and text-to-speech call handling.
- User-configured routing rules.
- Serial, parallel, longest idle & round robin routing.
- Call queuing with music on hold.
- Agent presence aggregation.
- Support for high-definition video.
- Teams can collaborate with each other by participating in topic-based discussions that persist over time.
- Filters and alerts allow participation in a large number of topics whilst only being notified of relevant conversations.
- Excellent for providing a single point of discussion for specific projects, subject matter or clients--especially across time zones.
- Desktop sharing from Communicator Web Access.
- Single-number reach to/from office number.
- Call logs include cellular calls.
- Dial plans extend to cellular calls.
- Improvements to Office Communicator Mobile making it easier and better to use.
- Office Communicator Mobile for non-Microsoft platforms.
- Support for Nokia S40 and Motorola RAZR, support for Symbian/Nokia S60 in Summer 2009.
- Lower bandwidth use due to changes to of Active Directory usage and replication.
- New Monitoring Server for call billing and call quality reporting.
Better performance and scalability due to move to 64-bit server architecture.
- Virtualisation supported for some server roles.
- VoIP SIP trunk connections supported.
- Better integration into line-of-business applications including ERP and CRM.