The Redmond, Wash., company said Tuesday that its Live Communications Server 2005 software will let companies encrypt their instant-messaging communications internally and link IM systems between companies so that suppliers and other business partners can share secure IM connections.
The standard edition of LCS will cost US$750 per server. The enterprise edition, which includes more fail-safe options and the ability to cluster the software on many servers, will cost US$3,000 per server. Microsoft will offer bulk discounts for both versions as well.
Additionally, Live Communications Server, or LCS, will include an option for letting companies link to public instant-messaging networks from Microsoft, America Online and Yahoo, so that employees can chat with users on the Big Three IM services.
The extra-cost option won't be available until the first half of next year, however.
LCS has become a cornerstone of Microsoft's efforts to expand its Office line beyond a mere collection of productivity applications. By integrating LCS into Office, Microsoft hopes to imbue a variety of applications--especially its Outlook e-mail software--with "presence," or the ability to intelligently route communications based on a worker's location or availability.
Presence works by using information in people's applications to know their whereabouts. For example, if Outlook's calendar shows that a person is in a meeting, it can route voice calls to that person's cell phone. Or if someone sends an IM to a user, the software can then prompt a Net phone call and record a voice message.
LCS may be the first step toward enabling what analysts call a "secure cloud" for exchanging data between different systems to make presence work.
Microsoft said the new release of LCS will also improve secure remote access to presence and instant-messaging capabilities, using standard firewall ports instead of virtual private network, or VPN, connections.
Last week, Microsoft announced new corporate instant-messaging client software, code-named Istanbul. The software resembles the Windows Messenger software that's currently found in Windows XP. The difference is that, with Istanbul, a user's IM information is synchronised with Outlook's calendar and scheduling information. Istanbul also connects to desk phones and serves up an alert when someone calls.
