Thumbs up for Microsoft Lync and Polycom KIRK

Microsoft Lync’s strength has to be its ability to integrate with the existing platforms.  Make it  easy to integrate with existing telephony platforms and you remove one more objection to buying.  Microsoft is working with the likes of Polycom to make this happen.  There are Polycom KIRK DECT on-site mobility solutions which are already interoperable with Lync. These are the first Microsoft certified DECT solutions for Lync.

ICON, the UK’s distributor of the Polycom Lync compatible on-site mobility solutions is already planning for an uptake in sales as a result of Lync.  Microsoft’s low hanging fruit are organisations which have made large investments in OCS or are in a vertical segment such as education (where Microsoft provide attractive license offers) – ICON sees many of these organisations and a surprising number are already active around Lync as a UC telephony solution and are talking with us on how they can enjoy the benefits of onsite mobility as an expansion.

The future of the cloud

ICON does not believe, as some pundits claim, that cloud solutions are displacement technologies which will kill the CPE solutions.

Cloud solutions will co-exist with CPE solutions in the market.  In a perfect channel where resellers and vendor match the solution to the needs of the user we expect to see cloud and CPE solutions co-existing and providing the user with same telephony benefits no matter whether they choose a CPE or cloud solution.  There is no telephony reason for either one to dominate and the decision to deploy a CPE or cloud based solution will be based on differentiators not related to telephony.  The financial structure of the business, the strategic importance of the telephone system, and the fiscal status of company will be the deciding factors.

ICON distributes Wave IP a CPE solution which delivers functionality which equals that of the best enterprise CPE or cloud solution and MESSAGEmanager a Unified messaging solution which can be deployed as a CPE or cloud based solution but has not seen any wholesale move to cloud based solutions.

Mark Shane commented

“There is a lot of information around at the moment about the technology of cloud based telephony.  But I have still to see any sound presentation of the financial and fiscal benefits of these solutions for the end user and that is where the real difference lies.  For many of our clients the strategic and lifetime cost of deploying a Wave IP solution far outweigh the advantage of a cloud solution”