#response point

Andy makes some valid points as he ponders the world of SIP without Microsoft. It would seem to me that with many of the service providers bailing out of the softphone services business that maybe the market is either already saturated or that the offers in the market are still not seamless enough for the average user to get excited about it. From my own experience I know that getting people to strap on headsets or talk into a laptop is not only confusing for the user but even when you get them there the quality usually isn't that great or predictable, regardless of the softphone you are using. Sometimes this has more to do with the connection and bandwidth and less to do with the softphone. At any rate, I think softphones have a future but they need to be invisible to the user and QOS (Quality of Service) must be addressed. I think the boys at Microsoft might agree as they get ready to roll SIP Trunking for their new Response Point SIP-enabled SMB PBX. Response Point is probably the best SMB PBX I have had the opportunity to install, configure and play with recently. Btw, the customer I installed this for is loving it. So, is Microsoft throwing in the towel on the VoIP front? No, I don't think so. They are likely focusing on what they know best, bundling software with hardware to fill a niche. Response Point is a great example of that.

We are making our way to IT Expo soon where we will be making some announcements and speaking on a couple of Response Point topics. Rich Tehrani posted a great summary of the Response Point syllabus. For those who are interested in taking it in, Richard Sprague is offering a free pass.

According to Marta (a kick-butt MS Response Point engineer) these designer half gloves are now part of the dress code for any self-respecting lady at Microsoft. I thought she was just a bit chilled from the cooler weather in Miami that evening but according to her colleagues, she wears them every day. Now that's style!

Every Microsoft Response Point system sold today is now bundled with the SMB Digital Voice service. Through the Response Point Administrator one can add SMB Phone service to their Response Point system in under 5 minutes.

Rex has posted a great list of technical resources for Service Pack 2, this is a must-read if you plan on running SP2 (recommended). Download Response Point SP 2 here.

Join Erik Lagerway and Trent Johnsen, co-founder/executives of SMB Phone to see how Microsoft Response Point is changing small business communications and what it means for you and your customers. SMB Phone is a national Response Point distributor and Canada’s newest Microsoft certified Internet Telephony Service Provider (ITSP) and the only provider to be integrated with Response Point in Canada. Along with a working demo/overview of Response Point, SMB Phone will provide an insider’s industry perspective on Microsoft Response Point and the latest software release, Service Pack 2, and how you can improve your customer’s business communications and enjoy significant new business opportunities working with Microsoft Response Point and SMB Phone. 3/12/2009 | 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM Welcome Time:3/12/2009 6:00 PM Pacific Time The BC Liquor Distribution Branch (BC LDB)3200 East Broadway (Okanagan room)Vancouver, BC V5M 3T5Canada Click here to attend

I am staring my first blog ever and I am very excited. Even though I have been an analyst for 9 years, I just never found the time or the opportunity to create a blog. Maybe a brief introduction is appropriate. My name is Elka Popova and I manage Frost & Sullivan's North American Unified Communications practice. My expertise is in hosted telephony, unified communications (hosted and premise-based), voice and unified messaging, telephony CPE implementation and management services, speech technologies, VoWLAN, enterprise telephony headsets, and recently, Response Point. I would like to thank Mr. Erik Lagerway for letting me contribute to this site. I hope my future blogs reach an audience that finds them informative and somehow useful. An article on hosted UC is coming up soon!