Office Communications Server 2007 facilitates, unifies, and moderates
real-time communication by a variety of methods. Office Communications
Server supports instant messaging (IM), presence information, Web
conferencing, and telephony, all utilizing pre-existing software and
technology in an office environment.
This offering is the enterprise edition, which can support unlimited
users and allows individual components to be deployed on dedicated
servers. The enterprise edition requires a dedicated back end SQL
database on a separate server. The standard edition, also available from
TechSoup Stock, runs on a single server and can support up to 5000
users.
Additional processor licences can be acquired through
Microsoft's Charity Open Licencing programme.
Office Communications Server can serve as a hub for all live
communications within an organisation and with people outside the
organisation. Users connected to Office Communications Server can
participate in IM and voice conversations and share Office documents.
Meetings can be requested and launched through a special menu in Outlook
or through a Web interface.
Office Communications Server's IM functionality works with Office
Communicator and Microsoft Live Meeting. Additionally, it provides
access through a Web-based interface and most popular IM clients,
allowing constituents and associates outside of the office to
communicate conveniently. When a third user is invited to a
conversation, the IM Conferencing Server relays messages among
participants regardless of what IM clients the participants are using.
The transition to a multiple-user conference is automatic with no
cosmetic changes.
Office Communications Server can manage both voice over IP (VoIP) and
traditional (PSTN) telephony. Participants may use any combination of
physical phones and Office Communicator's voice interface. By adhering
to industry telephony standards, Office Communications Server can work
within the confines of an organisation's existing telephone and PBX
systems.
Through close integration with other Microsoft Office products, Office
Communications Server supports multiple venues for collaboration and
application-sharing. PowerPoint presentations can be utilised and
distributed within a Web conference and Office documents can be edited
in real time by local and remote participants.
Office Communications Server also accommodates live audio and video
conferencing among multiple users. Office Communications Server is
compatible with Microsoft RoundTable or any device adherent to RTP or
RTCP protocols.
The R2 release adds desktop sharing capabilities, on-premise audio
conferencing, and extended Communicator Mobile functionality for remote
and mobile users.
Licence Requirements: This product includes only the
licence for a server running Office Communications Server. Each user or
device that accesses the IM or presence capabilities of Office
Communications Server must have an Office Communications Server standard
user or device client access licence (CAL) or be covered by a standard
external connector (EC) licence.
In addition to the standard CAL or EC licence, each user or device that
accesses the web conferencing, telephony, and application sharing
capabilities must have an Office Communications Server enterprise user
or device CAL or be covered by an enterprise EC licence.
Acquiring the Installation Media and Licence Key:
Installing this product requires installation media and a licence key.
Installation media will be shipped to you free of charge.
The licence key allows you to use the installation media to install the
product on as many computers as you have received donations for. This
quantity is specified in the donation email sent to your organisation
email address after your eligibility has been verified and your
administrative fee has been received.