Microsoft Tuesday stepped onto the VoIP stage with the rollout of its unified communications portfolio. In a keynote address at the San Francisco event, Chairman Bill Gates touted the benefits of software-based computing and the power of integrating presence and click-to-talk features into business applications.
Later, in a conversation with CMP Channel Assistant News Editor Jennifer Hagendorf Follett, Gates said Microsoft channel is evolving to meet the new opportunity, but noted that channel capacity could be the biggest challenge the Redmond, Wash.-based vendor faces as it moves into the unified communications market against foes like Cisco Systems. He also downplayed the likelihood of Google and open-source VoIP staking a claim in the enterprise space, and revealed how his own work life has changed as a result of the technology.