Hosted Messaging and Collaboration Updated

The addition of Communications Server 2007 to Microsoft’s Hosted Messaging and Collaboration (HMC) platform adds presence, Web conferencing, and Voice over IP (VoIP) capabilities to the company’s offering for hosters. The platform has also been updated to support Windows Server 2008, paving the way for greater use of virtualization in hosted systems. The new capabilities have attracted the attention of some telecommunications firms, who could use the platform to supplement their existing voice offerings. However, services built on the HMC will compete with planned Microsoft Online hosted services, so partners will have to use bundling or advanced capabilities to distinguish themselves from Microsoft.

HMC Evolution

HMC provides a reference platform, implementation guidance, and administrative tools for organizations that want to host Exchange, SharePoint, and now Communications Server for customers. The platform was initially focused on Microsoft’s Exchange e-mail server, and succeeding versions added SharePoint services, new versions of Exchange, and hosted security and anti-malware services for Exchange. Version 4.0, released in 2007, was the first to include Exchange Server 2007, for example.