TABLE OF CONTENTS Video, audio, instant messaging ( IM), and Web conferencing have quickly become common terms in today s workplace. Regional, national, and international companies use these forms of conferencing as a way to better collaborate with coworkers and customers who often reside in separate geographic locations. With the ability to more actively share slide presentations, whiteboards, and even applications, companies are rapidly deeming these forms of communication mission critical. Office Communications Server (OCS) 2007 delivers an easy-to-use video, audio, IM, and Web conferencing solution that offers rich integration with other Microsoft Office applications. OCS provides reliable conferencing with just a few clicks of the mouse from within applications with which most people are already familiar.
In addition to offering a full set of traditional conferencing features in OCS 2007, Microsoft has also announced a videoconferencing device named RoundTable. RoundTable brings Web conferencing to a new level by providing a 360-degree panoramic video experience to meeting participants.
After reading this chapter, you should have a clear understanding of the new conferencing features in OCS 2007 and be ready to configure and use those features in your organization.
Web conferencing is one of the fastest-growing collaboration applications available today. Web-based conferencing provides an easy-to-use interface that enables users to quickly learn how to use the application and begin to host meetings. Typically, Web conferencing is a hosted solution provided by a third party outside your company s firewall. Microsoft began to offer its own Web...
