Oh and in case you forgot, to the right is Microsoft's Communicator client, a SIP-based communications application that integrates VoIP, IM/presence, video, collaboration, and more. On a related note, Bill Gates and Jeff Raikes will kick off the worldwide Unified Communications Launch 2007 in San Francisco on October 16 (this Tuesday). This is a huge launch for Microsoft and officially kicks off the launch of Office Communications Server 2007 - the core of Microsoft's Unified Communications strategy.
Microsoft's Unified Communications portfolio covers a lot of components, so here is a chart listing the various programmatic interfaces to the various components, which developers might find useful:
Unified Communications API | Description |
---|---|
Unified Communications Managed API version 1.0 |
A .NET Framework-based API for creating and deploying server-like or middle-tiered real-time communications applications. It is especially useful for applications with high scalability requirements. |
Unified Communications Client API |
A COM-based API for creating and deploying client side real-time collaboration applications. Microsoft Office Communicator is a desktop client built on the Unified Communications Client API. |
Office Communicator API |
A COM Automation API to enable programmatic access to Office Communicator. It is useful for applications that extend Office Communicator to offer customized functionalities. |
Communicator Web Access API |
An AJAX Service-based API for creating browser-based client applications. It is especially useful for applications that must be operating system independent. |
Office Communications Server API |
For managing servers and creating server applications. |
Live Meeting Service API |
An XML-formatted API for programmatically accessing Microsoft Office Live Meeting Web Service. |