MS gets in on VoIP act with OS roll-out
Software giant adds voice over IP capabilities to Windows CE 5.0
Microsoft is looking to cash in on the lucrative telephony market by adding more voice over IP (VoIP) capabilities to its Windows CE 5.0 operating system.
The vendor plans to roll out the software through direct manufacturing partners and the channel.
It is already working with equipment and device manufacturers, including LG Electronics, Casio, Hitachi, Samsung and Symbol, to embed the VoIP platform in future products.
Microsoft claims that the VoIP elements in Windows 5.0, due to ship in August or September, will make internet telephony more popular among enterprises.
"There's huge potential for VoIP, but the problem in the past was that the infrastructure was not there," said Hardy Poppinga, Microsoft's EMEA product manager for Windows Embedded.
"VoIP now offers the same quality as traditional voice calls, with an opportunity for savings."
VoIP usage can also benefit enterprises by integrating unified messaging, conferencing services and call centre administration.
Analyst Ovum said the new software lays the foundations for Microsoft to offer more enterprise communications tools.
"Because it links to Exchange you have something like an overall communications structure, which is potentially quite powerful," said Jessica Figueras, senior analyst at Ovum.
Jess Thompson-Hughes, managing director of systems integrator React Technologies, said: "There's a fledgling industry trying to bring VoIP to the desktop."
But he warned that interest in VoIP from Microsoft could have long-term repercussions for other players in the market.