Microsoft sees "billions" available from VoIP

Microsoft sees the rise in the use of voice over internet protocol (VoIP) telephony in the business environment as one of the biggest changes in the IT sector over the next three years, and believes its new applications for VoIP will earn it "billions".

The company's business division president Jeff Raikes told the VoiceCon Spring 2007 conference that Microsoft's new server software will transform the telecommunication systems industry the way its Windows operating system changed the computer industry.

Microsoft's Office Communications Server 2007 was released to 2,500 IT professionals for beta testing in December last year and Mr Raikes is expected to announce its release for public testing today.

The technology giant is hoping to have a real impact on the market and Mr Raikes told Reuters that by the year 2010 more than 100 million people will have the ability to make phone calls from Microsoft Office system applications such as Outlook, Word and SharePoint.

Microsoft predicts that the software segment of the VoIP market will be worth up to $40 billion.

"Ultimately, it will mean billions," said Mr Raikes.

Office Communications Server 2007 is the successor to Microsoft Live Communications Server 2005 and is part of Microsoft's unified communications portfolio.

"The convergence of telecom and data networks is happening rapidly. Software will integrate these two worlds, enabling IT managers to deliver new communications possibilities that include VoIP," according to Gurdeep Singh Pall, corporate vice president of the Unified Communications Group at Microsoft.

"With this open architecture and broad interoperability, Office Communications Server 2007 will give IT managers the flexibility to determine when and how and in what way they move their communications infrastructure forward."