Communications Server 2007 and its Communicator 2007 client became available in public beta form for the first time in late Mar. 2007. Communications Server (formerly Live Communications Server), the cornerstone of Microsoft's real-time communications efforts, enables instant messaging and audio or video calls, and acts as the hub for users' presence information—including which computing device a person is using and the person's current status, such as "online" or "in a meeting." This release marks a major leap where all forms of real-time communications, including Web conferencing and traditional private branch exchange (PBX) functions, are combined into a single platform.

Communications Server 2007 includes many new features:

• Support for multiparty video- and audioconferencing
• Voice over IP (VoIP) functions that work across firewalls without Virtual Private Networks
• VoIP PBX features, including call routing and call control capabilities, that enable the product to replace or enhance corporate phone systems with VoIP
• Web conferencing, enabling organizations to host internal conferences without subscribing to Microsoft's public Live Meeting service

The new Communicator 2007 client is required to exploit many of Communication Server 2007's new features. The new client also offers better integration with Outlook, such as the ability to save an IM conversation to e-mail.

Pricing and licensing details, especially Client Access License types and requirements, have not yet been announced, but are expected to be made public before the final versions of these products ship in the third quarter of 2007.

For more details on Communications Server 2007 and Communicator 2007, see "Unified Communications Roadmap" on page 12 of the Nov. 2006 Update.

The betas can be downloaded via a link at the top of www.microsoft.com/uc/default.mspx (registration required).

Documentation for the betas can be downloaded on its own (without registration) from www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=0A3E2593-5812-4BF5-A554-3215CBBA587A.