The Business Value of Presence with Microsoft® Office Live Communications Server 2005 Microsoft Corporation Published: October, 2004 Abstract It is a distinct competitive advantage to be able to communicate quickly and efficiently in today’s business world. With the increasingly busy schedules and diverse locations of information workers, however, it can be hard to get in touch with the right people at the right time. When people understand how to best contact each other, they are able to focus on getting the information they need rather than wasting time. This is the core of “presence,” knowing instantly whether someone is online and available to communicate. Now built into a number of applications and devices, from traditional instant messaging clients to Microsoft® Office documents and portals, mobile devices, e-mail and telephones, the power of presence lets teams work efficiently anytime, anywhere. This paper describes the business value of presence within an organization and how this vital information has been integrated into the applications used by most information workers. This is a preliminary document and may be changed substantially prior to final commercial release of the software described herein. The information contained in this document represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication. This document is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT. Complying with all applicable copyright laws is the responsibility of the user. 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The Business Value of Presence with Microsoft® Office Live Communications Server 2005 Contents Contents ......................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction.................................................................................................................................... 2 What is Presence?......................................................................................................................... 3 Integrated Presence ...................................................................................................................... 5 Instant Messaging (IM) ................................................................................................................ 5 Collaboration Sites....................................................................................................................... 6 Communication Tools .................................................................................................................. 7 Productivity Applications .............................................................................................................. 8 Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 10 The Business Value of Presence with Microsoft® Office Live Communications Server 2005 Introduction It is a distinct competitive advantage to be able to communicate quickly and efficiently in today’s business world. With the increasingly busy schedules and diverse locations of information workers, however, it can be hard to get in touch with the right people at the right time. From playing phone tag with key contacts to interruptions during important meetings, delays can add up to hours in lost time every year. When people understand how to best contact each of their colleagues, they are able to focus on getting the information they need rather than wasting time tracking down a single owner. If one teammate is busy, perhaps another will have the facts at hand. This is the core benefit of “presence,” knowing instantly whether someone is online and available to communicate. Presence has been built into a number of contexts and devices, from traditional instant messaging clients to Microsoft® Office documents and portals, mobile devices, e-mail and telephones. Microsoft Office Live Communications server is the presence engine that enables presence from within devices and technologies. Presence lets teams work efficiently whether individual members are at the office, traveling on business, working at home or even en route to another location. With the latest Microsoft® Office and Microsoft® Windows technology, businesses can connect people, information and processes in real-time, enabling workers to communicate and make better decisions faster. The Business Value of Presence with Microsoft® Office Live Communications Server 2005 What is Presence? Presence is the ability of a person or device to communicate with others and to display levels of availability. Presence awareness, a closely related concept, is the knowledge of the person or device’s presence. For example, if you reach your colleague’s voice mail, you know the person is not answering their phone, but you do not yet know everything you need to reach them. In fact, they might be sitting near their phone engrossed in another task. If the person could share their level of availability, you would instantly know whether it was appropriate to interrupt them with your call. Today’s instant messaging technology makes that possible. With real-time communication, presence is clearly displayed through status flags, such as “Online,” “Busy” or “On the Phone,” as shown in Figure 1: Status Notes in Figure 1. If you notice your colleague is logged into Microsoft® Windows Messenger an instant messaging client with a “busy” status, you immediately know both presence and availability for that person. Using this method of communication, your colleague can convey his or her preferred method of communication through the status indicator. When you see the status change to “online,” you know you can then reach your colleague instantly with a quick text message. This valuable type of intelligence can even be extended to determine the presence and availability of devices such as computer servers or printers. Presence has measurable value in the workplace. Setting up calls and meetings still takes up too much time. Workflow is blocked by the inevitable physical separation of team members. According to Forrester Research report “Unified Synchronized Communications Arrives,” (Feb., 2004), “Today's global economy requires fast-paced communications — immediate access to current information and the ability to respond in minutes, not hours — to avoid project delays or missed delivery dates. Companies will be able to deliver results faster by reducing the number of steps employees must take to locate team members, meet, and share information, and the amount of time wasted in the process.” The Business Value of Presence with Microsoft® Office Live Communications Server 2005 Between email, instant messaging, desk, home or cellular phones, PDAs and the Internet, information workers are connected to a communication device most of the time. Presence allows people to see which team members are online and immediately contact them, thereby increasing the likelihood that the intended communication will yield positive results. When that information is integrated into familiar interfaces such as Microsoft® Office documents, people can communicate and make better decisions faster. Case In Point Companies can immediately streamline their processes by incorporating presence in scenarios such as these: • Enable multiple channels of communication: A stockbroker can discuss investments with a customer on IM while executing orders electronically • Facilitate remote collaboration: Someone working at home or on the road can work with colleagues in the office through a presence-enabled intranet portal, thereby seeing who is online at any moment of the day • Automate processes: Companies can link data from a customer relationship management (CRM) system, automatically adding IM contacts as new customers are added to the system • Increased success rate of communications: Call center personnel can talk to each other using instant messaging while live on the telephone with a customer needing answers The Business Value of Presence with Microsoft® Office Live Communications Server 2005 Integrated