AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, October 14 /PRNewswire/ --

- Amsterdam's VoiceCon sets the stage for latest innovations in 
Microsoft's integrated software-based communications as European companies 
reap the benefits of Office Communications Server 2007.

Microsoft Corp debuted Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 
Release 2 (R2), an update to the award-winning Microsoft Office 
Communications Server 2007, at VoiceCon in Amsterdam today. The European 
focus for the global announcement reflects the importance that Microsoft 
attaches to its European customers, and its commitment to providing the next 
generation of unified communications (UC) solutions to businesses. Supporting 
the announcement, Microsoft is holding a series of exclusive one-day road 
shows across Europe to demonstrate how Microsoft unified communications has 
the ability to fundamentally change the way that businesses work -- in and 
out of the office. Customers will be able to purchase the release as of 
February 2009.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO)

"European businesses are looking for better ways to communicate in an
increasingly mobile and globalised world, while workers are faced with
ever-increasing volumes of communication and the dangers of information
overload," said Lukas Keller, Unified Communications Business lead at
Microsoft. "Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 is a significant
step towards a fully software-based PBX, meaning that workers can reach the
right person, right now. It gives our customers streamlined communications,
new levels of operational flexibility and control, and an extensible
communications platform."

Office Communications Server 2007 R2 builds on the huge success of
Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007, which drew 12,000 people to
launch events in Western Europe and has seen access license growth that
exceeds 100 per cent. Office Communications Server 2007 R2 delivers the
following:

-- Full-featured audioconferencing to help reduce telephony costs and
       improve collaboration
    -- New voice features to enhance Office Communications Server voice for
       mobile and remote workers
    -- New tools to help speed business processes by integrating
       communications within applications



Comms IT Efficiency and Business Productivity Now -- Even From Legacy
Systems

Office Communications Server 2007 R2 enables an integrated user
experience via Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 and delivers streamlined
communications for users so they can find and communicate with the right
person, right now, from the applications they most frequently use (such as
Microsoft Office Outlook). Office Communications Server 2007 R2 brings
together instant messaging (IM), audioconferencing, webconferencing,
videoconferencing and enterprise voice onto a single future-ready platform
that meets the needs of today's increasingly mobile and global work force.
Because Office Communications Server 2007 R2 is built on Active Directory and
aligned with Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft Office applications, IT
departments can implement these capabilities alongside the existing telephony
infrastructure while providing the operational control required.

"Many of the benefits sought by companies in Europe with IP telephony
implementation can be achieved more rapidly and for a lower cost by
implementing Office Communications Server 2007 R2 -- working with existing
telephony systems so that customers do not have to upgrade expensive
infrastructure," Keller said. "Mobile users who are using laptops and mobile
phones and rely heavily on business software, like the Microsoft Office
applications, are likely to see the greatest, most immediate and most visible
benefit from the software-powered VoIP capabilities of Office Communications
Server 2007 R2."

Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Brings New Ways of Working
in Europe

Office Communications Server 2007 R2 adds to the already considerable
unified communications momentum in Europe, with 30 voice-specialised partners
and nine global system integrators currently authorised by Microsoft in
Western Europe. Since 2006 Microsoft has been involved in an alliance with
telecommunications provider Nortel, which is accelerating the adoption of UC
through joint solution innovation and by enabling better UC solutions and
services.

A growing number of European customers are enjoying the financial and
productivity gains made possible through Microsoft's integrated
communications platform, including Irish telecommunications provider eircom,
Danish-based bioinnovations leader Novozymes, Swiss media company Ringier AG,
Royal Dutch Shell plc and European telecommunications company Swisscom.

eircom is using Office Communications Server 2007 to help drive its New
World of Work initiative, which aims to improve working lives and
productivity. Staff quickly identified the connectivity benefits of features
such as presence and IM while working away from the office and the advantages
of simple videoconferencing offered by Office Communicator 2007, the client
application for Office Communications Server 2007. eircom estimates that a
conservative time saving of 30 minutes per week for just 1,500 eircom
employees would amount to approximately euro 950,000 in productivity gains.

"Office Communicator 2007 will be a ubiquitous tool at eircom," said
Stephen Mulligan, Web and Mobility Technology manager at eircom. "Microsoft
technologies are agile and intuitive enough to automate business processes
without forcing us to change; that's the New World of Work."

"As a global company with employees dispersed in various time zones and
geographic locations, Royal Dutch Shell has benefitted from Microsoft Office
Communications Server 2007 with improved communications and more flexibility
for our employees," said Johan Krebbers, Group IT architect at Royal Dutch
Shell. "Today Royal Dutch Shell has over 5,000 employees who frequently
travel and use Office Communications Server 2007 as their primary voice
solution."

Unified Communications - On the Road

Microsoft will share the experiences of companies such as eircom and
Royal Dutch Shell with European businesses at a series of road shows in
December this year. Microsoft experts and executive briefers will demonstrate
how Microsoft unified communications has the ability to fundamentally change
the way that businesses work. Highlights include the following:

-- How unified communication breaks down cross-functional silos
    -- Best practices -- Microsoft's internal deployment
    -- Why UC is the platform (not the network)
    -- Demonstrations of and insight into Office Communications Server 2007
       R2
    -- The real story on interoperability



Office Communications Server 2007 R2 road shows will be held in Zurich
(8-9 December), and Madrid and Rome (11-12 December). More information about
Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 is available at
http://www.microsoft.com/uc/products/ocs2007.mspx.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in
software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realise
their full potential.

About Microsoft EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa)

Microsoft has operated in EMEA since 1982. In the region Microsoft
employs more than 16,000 people in over 64 subsidiaries, delivering products
and services in more than 139 countries and territories.

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