With the momentum of IP convergence and the movement toward an all digital world, professional communication systems combining telephony over IP, e-mail, instant messaging and audio/video conferencing services are sparking serious interest due to the benefits they offer in terms of increasing use value and cost rationalization.

In the interest of offering solutions that provide these benefits and respond to the new issues companies face, Microsoft has decided to develop a new line of software focusing on new scenarios for unified communications and groupware. Its most recent offerings, Exchange Server 2007 and Office Communications Server 2007 place the emphasis on individuals and are drawing the attention of computing and operating departments to the opportunities created by the convergence of voice systems and these new information system technologies.

For its part, Orange Business Services has drawn on its expertise in telecommunications and IP convergence to quickly validate that the Microsoft software approach is effective in meeting the needs of companies. Orange Business Services and Microsoft, therefore, decided to form a strategic partnership and offer a joint solution with the goal of democratizing new usage scenarios for groupware and unified communications and facilitating their adoption.

This joint solution, called Business Together with Microsoft, is unique on the market in addressing companies' many needs while aiming to optimize the cost of possession and the respect for level of service commitments with:

• End-to-end management of the entire life-cycle of its solutions, from the design phase to the operating phase and from the integration phase to change management
• Freedom of management and operations with different modes for implementation (hosting or integration) and management
• Solutions designed for every context, from small to medium-sized companies to large, international companies

Many companies are already living proof of the benefits gained by adopting a Business Together with Microsoft solution. Read this whitepaper to learn more.