Matt Landis Windows PBX & UC Report

Since We Forgot To Put the Start Button on Windows 8, We Put It On Our Latest Mouse: Microsoft Sculpt Comfort Mouse

2013-05-24T14:43:00.001-07:00

As if to make up for the much missed Windows 8 Start button, Microsoft’s latest “Sculpt Comfort Mouse” comes with a Start button. But this Start button is not your fathers start button. Microsoft is hailing this a “touch-sensitive blue strip on its side called the Windows touch tab that makes it easy to navigate Windows 8 with just the touch or swipe of a finger.”

We suspect that with the new “sculpting” combined with the “touch sensitive blue strip” that your finger can glide over, you hand will never want to go back to clicking a silly old “Start” menu button on a screen or keyboard. There is a mobile and desktop version so no one is without a “Windows touch tab”.

To read more about the Sculpt Comfort Mouse:
http://blogs.windows.com/windows/b/windowsexperience/archive/2013/05/23/announcing-sculpt-comfort-mouse-amp-mobile-mouse.aspx

HP Releases Free App to View Microsoft Lync User Registrations Graphically

2013-05-22T14:30:00.001-07:00

It looks like HP has the same ole’ issues as all the rest of us! And they have released a tool to view Microsoft Lync User registrations.

From what I can see it requires remote Powershell and SQL access to work but can run from a PC other than a Lync Front End.

Get it here:
http://www8.hp.com/us/en/software-solutions/software.html?compURI=1171412#

Tip: ‏@StevenvanH

#Lync User QuickTip #28: Lync 2013 Now Will Easily Check If Domain Has Federation Enabled

2013-05-22T07:40:00.001-07:00

I just realized that Lync 2013 now has a very simple way of checking if a domain has federation enabled. Its just 2 simple steps:

Type an SIP URI and open a conversation (the SIP URI can be a bogus user, the domain is all that matters)
Now take a look if Lync shows “External Network” after “Presence unknown”, If so, this domain has external facing federation enabled at some level.

If you want to check which of your Outlook contacts have Lync federation enable, even if you don’t have Lync, your welcome to download the free Lync Who Can Federate Tool available here: http://bit.ly/wcftool

If you want to take a look at a list of the thousands of organizations that have Lync you can head over to http://bit.ly/lyncfed.

Outlook.com to Google IM is Live! Adds Jabber/XMPP Support to Outlook.com; Is Skype to Google Next?

2013-05-18T16:03:00.001-07:00

Microsoft has just released the ability for www.outlook.com users to Instant Message and see the presence of Google users. Interestingly the same week Microsoft announced and delivered outlook to Google interoperability, Google dropped a bombshell and noted that their nextgen IM/P solution called Hangouts (which will eventually replace Google Talk) would no longer support XMPP federation. Does this mean outlook.com to Google interop is doomed?

Actually not necessarily...at least not right now. Very interestingly outlook.com does not use XMPP federation, as one might expect, to talk to Google users: It appears to use the Google Talk API. What does this mean?

It means you will need a Google user login associated with your outlook.com account.
It also means that Google/Gmail users that receive an IM from your outlook.com account will look exactly like it is coming from a normal Google/Gmail user. (In fact, if you are logged into Gmail when an Outlook –> Google IM is occurring, you will see the conversation there)
It also means all your Google contacts will flow over into the Outlook.com People list.
It also means that you can IM from Outlook.com (via Google Talk login) to federated XMPP/Jabber based IM servers for as long as Google allows 3rd party clients to login to Google Talk and Google Talk does not remove XMPP federation.

IM/P between Outlook.com and a plain jane XMPP jabber.org IM/P account:

There are several implications of this:

Outlook.com is becoming a kind of web based multi-protocol client just like Skype application itself! (see my complete blog on this)
If you have your Google/Gmail account associated with your Outlook.com/Microsoft Account, and you are logging into Skype with Microsoft Account, why couldn't this functionality eventually be brought to the Skype client itself? So Skype to Google would be very possible in exactly the same way Skype to Facebook is currently working.

But isn’t XMPP federation going away with Google Hangouts, the new app that will eventually replace Google Talk? Yes, IM/P between Google Hangouts app and contacts federated to Google via XMPP federation will not work…BUT…conversations between Google Talk and those same contacts WILL continue to work for some time. (not end of life announced yet) Since Outlook.com is really like a 3rd party Google Talk client this continues to work. Google has noted that 3rd party Google Talk client support will not be cut off at this time.

So it appears that Microsoft is just extending it’s existing strategy of having Skype and Outlook.com be mutli-protocol “clients” that login in to various other services like Skype, Facebook, Outlook.com/Live Messenger, and now Google. Perhaps Microsoft just took a page out of the success of the many popular multi-protocol clients out there and decided to do it themselves? That’s what it looks like. <end>

Hangouts Won’t Hangout With Other Messaging Vendors: Google’s New Unified Messaging Drops Open XMPP/Jabber Interop
http://windowspbx.blogspot.com/2013/05/hangouts-wont-hangout-with-other.html

Skype becoming a multi-protocol client?
http://windowspbx.blogspot.com/2013/02/some-thots-on-skype-federation-becoming.html

It Looks Like Live Messenger Client No Long Allows Sign In: RIP

2013-05-16T17:41:00.001-07:00

It’s looks like we can no longer login to Live Messenger without upgrading to Skype! Previously I could bypass this and continue to login, but not anymore! (if you have different experience, please comment) I guess the end of the road for good old Live Messenger is here. RIP!

Hangouts Won’t Hangout With Other Messaging Vendors: Google’s New Unified Messaging Drops Open XMPP/Jabber Interop

2013-05-16T06:40:00.001-07:00

How can a company in the same day chastise other vendors for not being open and drop the open and interoperable portion of their own unified messaging solution? On May 15, 2013 Google seems to have done just that.

Just yesterday at Google I/O Larry Page decried a sad lack of IM & presence interoperability between vendors:

"I've personally been quite sad at the industry's behavior around all these things. If you take something as simple as IM, we've had an open offer to interoperate forever. Just this week Microsoft took advantage of that by interoperating with us but not doing the reverse. Which is really sad and not the way to make progress. You can't have people milking off of just one company for their own benefit…" (see video here)

But just days after Microsoft announces that www.outlook.com will integrate to Google’s IM/P solution via Google Talk’s XMPP protocol, Google notes that its new effort at a unified messaging solution (Hangouts which will replace existing Google Talk) will effectively cut off interoperability via XMPP. Google’s manager of real-time communication products, Nikhyl Singhal notes:

“With Hangouts, Singhal says Google had to make the difficult decision to drop the very "open" XMPP standard that it helped pioneer…”

Google Developers Talk page has also clearly noted that XMPP is not supported in Hangouts:

Note: We announced a new communications product, Hangouts, in May 2013. Hangouts will replace Google Talk and does not support XMPP. [show below]

What does this mean technically for XMPP to Google Federation today?

What does this mean technically today? User colaflash notes that the experience with the new Hangsouts-App (version 1.0.0.1, released today, 15th May 2013) is as noted below:

XMPP/Jabber contacts that you have saved in GoogleTalk will not show up in Hangouts app
Adding new XMPP/Jabber contacts in new Hangouts app will add them as email only contacts
XMPP/Jabber contacts can not send IM to Hangouts user (it fails to deliver with error)
Gmail account will appear online to XMPP/Jabber contacts when Hangout app is logged in (presumably through/via Gmail.com/GoogleTalk)
from Hangout App you cannot see others presence. Google Talk users will just see online when Hangout App is logged in.
If the same gmail user logs into www.gmail.com they can still IM XMPP/Jabber contacts (Google notes that talk will be superceded by Hangouts eventually)

How Many XMPP Federated Enterprise Organizations Will This Affect?

Earlier this year I did some research on how many Fortune 500 and 1000 companies have apparent public facing XMPP federation enabled and the numbers came in at around 10-15%. This means that between 10-15% of the top organizations could be affected by Google’s decision to drop XMPP. Read more here.

Questions About Clients: 3rd Party Clients, Google Talk and Hangouts

Q. Will my 3rd party Google Talk client still work?
A. At this time Google has not yet announced the end of life/retirement for Google Talk. As long as Google Talk is available 3rd party client apps as well as Outlook.com’s new Google connection could be expected to continue to work.

Q. Has Hangouts really removed contact presence?
A. Yes, below is the old Google Talk Android client (left) compared Hangouts app on the right. Two things that are missing in the new Hangouts App: Ability to see other users’ presence and the ability to set your own presence. Those using Talk app or Gmail.com will see a Hangouts user as Available if they are logged into the app.

Q. Its quite inconvenient to not have presence and loose Jabber contacts, what can I do?
A. If you uninstall the Android Hangouts App you will be able to use Google Talk app again.

[Note: the above are observations and we do not have input from Google]

Conclusion

Google Hangouts unplugging support for XMPP has deep ramifications in the industry: This means that interoperability between Google and Microsoft Lync, XMPP/Jabber based solutions like Cisco Jabber, Openfire, Avaya and many others will also loose interoperability. Will this also put Microsoft Lync in the interesting position of being the the most widely interoperable enterprise UC solution? [complete article on this subject] Will Google Apps now be the “closed solution” in comparison to Microsoft’s “very open” UC solution?

In conclusion, perhaps the code name “babel”, used internally by Google to describe their unified messaging effort, was indeed an allusion to the Biblical story of the tower of Babel? In that story humans spoke a single language until suddenly multiple languages emerged, making communication between people and groups impossible…

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.talk

If you are interested in IM/P interoperability between vendors you may have interest in this blog

Microsoft MVPs and IT Experts Weigh In On Grad School: Just Say No

2013-05-14T08:16:00.001-07:00

I posted “Don’t go to grad school?” on twitter followed by this LinkedIn article giving 7 reasons it’s a big mistake to go to grad school and was surprised by the flurry of feedback from top Microsoft Lync MVP’s on whether grad school is a good idea. What I was mainly surprised by is the unanimous chorus of “No!”.

Below are some interesting comments and input for those getting into the IT (and UC specifically) industry:

“Computer Science degrees full of coding didn’t interest me one bit. Did CCNA/MCSE instead.” –Justin Morris, Lync MVP

“For me, less time spent in school equaled more time gaining real world experience…” –Pat Richard, Lync MVP, (Previously Exchange MVP) UCArchitect Podcast

“Best advice my dad ever gave me was not to go to university. IT degree’s are worthless in my opinion. IT is practical first and academic a very distant second.” –Shawn Harry,

“I tried doing a degree a few years back got through one year. What a waste of time. Most of it was out of date.” –Chris Norman, Lync TSP at Microsoft, Popular Lync blogger: voipnorm.blogspot.com

“I was near a degree in chemistry when I started working. No regrets” –Fabrizio Volpe

“The knowledge that launched my career didn’t come from the classroom, but by actually working in the school IT department!” –Jonathan McKinney, Lync Certified Master (MCM), UC Architect

“I trained on the job. 13+ years real world experience tops any grad degrees in interviews now.” –Dave Simm,

“I wouldn’t say grad degrees are “worthless”, but they are worth less than hands-ons. the IT people learn by curiousity…the thing is, education doesn't have to be classroom. It can be as simple as books & @TechNetUK. That's how I do it.” –Samuel Roach

What are your thoughts?

Enhanced Better Together: Lync Client to Support Better Together Over IP

2013-05-08T08:33:00.001-07:00

About a month ago I noted that one of the announcements out of Enterprise Connect was the coming availability of “Enhanced Better Together” functionality for snom UC Edition phones. At that time I supposed this was purely a snom moniker, but considering various Lync Compatible IP Phone vendors are now noting coming “Enhanced Better Together” functionality I suspect this may actually be enabled via new functionality in the Microsoft Lync 2013 client.

The reasons for my thinking this is a new Lync 2013 client driven feature is that both snom and Audiocodes seem to be noting this new “Enhanced Better Together” functionality. Audiocodes specifically notes it is “Better Together support over Ethernet”. (shown below)

snom

What Functionality Will “Enhanced Better Together” support?

At the moment snom specifically mentions click to dial and
“deeper integration and support for Lync collaboration and calling features” –snom click here
Click to Call –snom click here
it will work “over Ethernet” –audiocodes click here

When Will It Arrive?

Audiocodes notes “Enhanced Better Together” is a “2013 Roadmap Feature”. Not very specific, but it gives an idea.

Will Lync Phone Edition Devices Get “Enhanced Better Together” Functionality?

At this time there is no indication that LPE devices will get this functionality. Only “Lync Compatible IP Phones” (as opposed to Lync Optimized devices) vendors seem to be noting this functionality.

Conclusion

Considering Microsoft is leaning more and more on non-Lync Phone Edition firmware based devices, this is very welcome news as users expect endpoint to be very integrated to the Lync client experience.

#Lync User QuickTip #27: Pickup With USB Headset From PC or Lync Phone Edition Handset With Better Together

2013-04-26T13:32:00.001-07:00

So you have a Lync Phone Edition device with Better Together USB tether. You want to answer on the deskphone when you pickup the handset and from your USB/Bluetooth headset when you click on Accept” from Lync client. How do you do this?

Plug in your Lync Phone Edition
Now just select your USB/Bluetooth headset as “Primary Device”

Now calls dialed/answered from PC will use USB headset and calls dialed/answered from phone will use desk phone.

What Would Lync 2013 Mobile Look Like Running on $199 Nexus 7?

2013-04-24T14:16:00.001-07:00

Lync 2013 Mobile is not supported on Nexus 7 and thus you will not find it on Google Play. But what would it look like if you went in “experimental mode” and installed the .APK on the Nexus 7? Take a look below.

Pros

Very low cost Lync video endpoint

Cons

no ear piece on the device
Notice the dialer screen the buttons do not line up with touch sometimes

Get apk: click here

You may have interest in my review of Lync 2013 Mobile for Android Review:
http://windowspbx.blogspot.com/2013/03/lync-2013-mobile-for-android-first-look.html

Some of My .NET Development Tools

2013-04-23T10:20:00.001-07:00

I’m just a “shade-tree” .NET developer but there some tools I use I thought I would book mark with this page.

Icon Creator:
http://iconverticons.com/online/

Nirsoft IconExtract:

Color Picker: ColorPix (no install, just run .exe on PC)
http://www.colorschemer.com/colorpix_info.php

Not a tool, just tutorials on WPF: Everything Technet is not:
http://wpftutorial.net/WrapPanel.html

My Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet 2 (Windows 8) Video Review

2013-04-22T05:19:00.001-07:00

Below is my video review of the Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet 2. My overall impression of the Tablet 2 is very good. It is a Thinkpad and looks and feels business class.

Pros

SIM Card/Data Capable
Ligher than Surface but not too light
standard USB charging port
Full sized USB for peripherals
slick Thinkpad quality bluetooth keyboard as extra accessory
ATOM processor and Win8 Pro means you can run standard Windows Apps

Cons

easy for hands to cover speakers
squeezing the unit in the middle—flexes, not solid

How to Use snom UC Edition Address Book Search With Microsoft Lync

2013-04-18T14:10:00.001-07:00

The address book search works quite slick on snom 7xx (and others). For the snom 720 and 760 there is a dedicated search button you can just press.

If you are on a snom 710 you will need to login to the web UI and set one of the 4 soft buttons to be a “ABS” (address book search) button. (shown below)

Now just press the Directory/ABS button and type in the name you want to lookup JUST like on a Lync Phone Edition device, wait a moment and the users that match will be displayed along with the presence for the users.

Video below on how it works:

Script

the 720/760 is the Directory/ABS button

LPE requires no button press,

Directory (ABS), 627 (MAR)

But now lets look at how snom UC Edition goes beyond LPE

directory, now you can use number OR letters (to be more specific)

you can search users OR Distribution Groups (not Lync created groups)

at the end talk about 710 button define in WUI.

Ubiquiti Unifi Now Supports Zero-Handoff Roaming: Extremely Affordable Voice Wifi Network?

2013-04-09T11:53:00.001-07:00

We have been using Ubiquiti Networks very affordable Unifi access points to bring WIFI to blanket large areas. Unifi firmware version 3.02 BETA has been released which now brings zero-handoff roaming (roaming for real-time/VoIP) to these very low priced access points. Below we will give a quick run through of our initial experience with this new firmware and feature.

How To Setup

First update your Unifi to firmware version 3.02. (you will need to sign up as a Beta user). Next setup a new WLAN Group by navigating Settings > Wireless Networks >

Next add a new WLAN Group by click the “+”. Now give a name and Enabled Zero-handoff to make your roaming WLAN Group.

Finally just add the access points you want to participate in this roaming group to this WLAN Group and you should be good to go.

NOTE: Zero-handoff participating access point need to have WPApsk security enabled.

What Our Simple Tests Indicate

NOTE: Please note that Unifi is NOT Microsoft Lync certified wifi access point.

For our first test we used a Nexus 4 Android phone running Lync 2013 Mobile connected to Lync Server 2013. We initiated a VoIP call to a mobile phone and then walked from 1 access point to another while a system administrator ensured that a handoff from one access point to another occurred using the Unfi admin panel. There was no apparent audio dropout or distortion that we could notice.

We also configured the Spectralink 8440 wifi portable phone to connect to a standard SIP based PBX. Once again the audio did not seem to cut out during a call. We did notice that if roaming occurred when the Spectralink was on the fringe of both access points there was some audio distortion.

(these simple tests did not test loading the access points, just 1 simple call)

Conclusion

This was a very basic test. But I think it is very interesting to see Unifi get zero-handoff roaming capability that at first look appears like it could eventually work with VoIP equipment.

Outlook.com Calendar Metro-ization Is Now Live

2013-04-03T06:04:00.001-07:00

It looks like my Outlook.com Calendar is now Metroized!

sharing calendar

People

Totally expected, but rumors are that Skype will be coming to Outlook.com as well.

How To Achieve Dial By Extension With Exchange Unified Messaging 2010 & 2013 Auto Attendant

2013-04-02T10:29:00.001-07:00

One of the challenges with Exchange UM Auto Attendants is that you cannot have both accept "Key Mapping" and "Dial Extension Number" using the same time Auto Attendant. This blog will outline how to get functionality very close to this.

While you can not have an Auto Attendant the accepts DTMF to select a key mapping/option AND dials an extension directly, you can have the below scenario’s:

Have an Auto Attendant that allows you to type an extension number directly or say a Key Mapping option (start at step 1)
Have an Auto Attendant that allows you to dial a Key Mapping options and just have one of the key mappings send you to the Dial Extension auto attendant (Step 2)
Have an Auto Attendant that plays a prompt and allows you to dial an extension directly. (jump to step 2)

Step 1: Defining The Auto Attendant That Allows You To Say an Option or Dial an Extension Directly

This auto attendant is where you give users the option to say a option they want to go to. This auto attendant is very standard the only setting you need is on the General tab

Auto attendant is speech-enable = checked
Use this DTMF fallback auto attendant = checked

then select our auto attendant define in step 2.

What this will do is wait for caller to say an option. If they dial an extension instead, the DTMF dial will be sent to the Auto Attendant you define under “Use this DTMF fallback auto attendant”.

Step 2: Defining The DTMF Fallback Auto Attendant

The DTMF Fallback auto attendant must be configured as shown below:

General | Auto Attendant is speech-enabled = unchecked
Key Mapping | Enabled business hours key mapping = unchecked

key mapping show

Conclusion

While it sure would be nice to be able to use DTMF to select an auto attendant option or dial by extension from the same Auto Attendant I think this is a reasonable work around at the moment, but I sure hope the Exchange team is listening: this should be addressed.

<end>

Forum:
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/exchangesvrunifiedmessaginglegacy/thread/6cff07f6-3226-4a59-8e5e-1f6479f7a9b1/

# to goto contact lookup, and # again to go to dial an extension

Bluetooth Handsets

2013-04-02T06:34:00.001-07:00

Hype Cordless Bluetooth Handset, Speaker: $23
http://www.gearxs.com/Hype-Cordless-Bluetooth-Handset-Speaker-With-Mic-Silver

Native Union MM05 Handset: $29
http://www.amazon.com/Native-Union-Authentic-Handset-Blackberry/dp/B004G55YX8

MM02: $59
http://www.amazon.com/Native-Union-Authentic-MM02T-BLK-ST-Smartphones/dp/B007PPYZ5Y

http://www.nativeunion.com/us/

Spanish Edition of Microsoft Lync Server 2013 Step By Step for Anyone eBook Available Soon

2013-04-01T11:57:00.001-07:00

Is in the final stages of being translated to Spanish by Lync MVP Peter Diaz.

Get it for free on TechNet Gallery Soon Here:
http://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Lync-Server-2013-Step-By-d34f66cc

Get the English Edition Today Here:
http://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/office/Lync-Server-2012-9d6fe954

New #snom IP DeskPhone Does Multi-Touch, Video, Uses Native Lync 2013 Software?

2013-04-01T10:03:00.001-07:00

[NOTE: At the moment all I have is these pictures]

The pictures appear to be a snom device sporting a large multi-touch screen and video cam. From what I can see the software running on this device looks similar to Lync 2013 Mobile.

Does this have something to do with snom’s recent posting about a position opening for a Senior Android developer?

We are hearing the device supports the following features:

Multi-party video calling (active speaker only)
Multi-touch and swipe gesture navigation
Exchange Calendar integration and Lync meeting Join from the phone
Direct Blue-tooth headset support
The phone can receive IM’s Directly on the phone

closer picture

This looks like one phone I need to get my hands on.

Happy April!

Lync 2013 Mobile for Android First Look

2013-03-29T16:20:00.001-07:00

Lync 2013 Mobile for Android is available on the Google store. Below is our first look and photo tour of the app. At the end of this photo tour I have written my notes and thoughts. Enjoy.

Status Screen:

Voice Calling Screen

dtmf dial pad during a call

Dialer

Set Status

Instant Message

IM using Android Speech recognition (very nice)

Making a call from Android Contact List you are given a choice of which app to use. Lync 2013 Mobile is among this list.

Video Call (this is a video call to a Lync 2010 user)

Video Call: You can switch cameras and orientation mid call.

Incoming Call

Settings

Call forwarding

Landscape works in all screens fine. Notice the buttons at the top get smaller

Call Via Work Call back (it doesn’t appear the user can select call-via-work versus voip at dial time like Windows Phone)

Swipe to get to IM from a Voice/Video call

New modality request

Call History: Notice the little “1” on the conversation history “tab” indicating 1 missed call.

Not connected” indication

Both Lync 2010 and 2013 can be installed and (it seems) run at the same time. Do note that Lync 2013 will not work with Lync Server 2010.

Some Things I Noticed:

You can swipe as well as tap between screens (not possible on Lync 2010 Android)
Entire app is VERY snappy on my Nexus 4
You can sync Lync contacts to your Android device
You cannot search Android contacts from Lync (not a big deal because you can dial from Android contact list)
Even if you exit Lync from App Switcher, incoming calls will come through
NOT supported on Android tablets
Contacts added on Lync 2013 (PC) will show up immediately
Lync dialer does not normalize number
NOTE: Appears there is no way to initiate multi-party IM from this client (Is this correct?)
~~No Visual Voicemail~~

Observations

The app is VERY snappy on my Nexus 4
Seems like the Lync 2013 Mobile for Android is ever so slightly more basic than iOS and Windows Phone Versions of Lync 2013 Mobile (but still great app)
- No way to select Call-Via-Work versus Voip at time of call
- Can’t search device contacts from Lync App (in fairness Lync contacts are added to Android contact list as an alternative)
- No Visual Voicemal
Overall very nice app

More Detailed NotesAlso, you may want to read this blog article that answers in detail, a variety of call situations and how Lync 2013 Mobile (not android specifically) handles them.

Question Your Users Will Ask About Lync 2013 Mobile: Click Here
Which Android Devices Will Lync 2013 Mobile Run On? Click Here

Get Lync 2013 Mobile for Android Click Here:

<end>

Lync 2013 Mobile is *NOT* supported on tablet. But what does it look like on a bigger form factor device?

Audio call

Video

conversations

Instant Message thread

Contacts Screen

Dialer

apk: click here

Nexus7 ($199) + HTC Mini (?) + Lync 2013

Google’s Cross-Platform Messaging App: Babel

2013-03-29T10:25:00.001-07:00

Google is said to be working on a new cross-platform messaging app to unify its many messaging platforms into one brand. Originally it was reported that this effort was called “Babble” but now it has been corrected to “Babel” (According to the Biblical story of Babel, it seems “Babel” would describe Google’s current disconnected bunch of messaging apps better than one that is united. Perhaps the code-name really should be “reverse-Babel”?)

Babel, not Babble:
http://bgr.com/2013/03/29/google-babel-messaging-service-rumor-403387/

More:
http://www.androidauthority.com/googles-unified-chat-service-to-be-named-babel-seamless-integration-across-five-platforms-180946/

The 2013 Unified Communication “Fortune 1000 List” DNS Report

2013-03-27T19:02:00.001-07:00

In 2011 I wrote a report about Microsoft UC based on statistics derived from publicly available DNS records. This year we will be able to compare the same domains and what has changed in the Microsoft UC/Lync. We will also add to our report data about XMPP servers. While there are some challenges with using DNS records that I will outline below, I think the data demonstrates what is happening, at least in a general way, in the real world.

Definition of Terms

To avoid using the generic “Microsoft UC” we will use Lync to refer to any Microsoft UC products. This could be LCS, OCS, Lync or Lync Online/Office 365.

We understand the UC federation can mean different things to different people and vendors, but for the purposes of this report we are using the definition as outlined in this article “What Is UC Federation?”

Notes About DNS Based Data and Our Domain List

This report is not perfect and we want to clearly indicate what we see as weaknesses that one should be aware of when considering this report.

This report is based on querying DNS SRV records
Having the noted DNS record does not guarantee that an organization has fully implemented the indicated UC as the organization could be merely testing or piloting
Somewhat in the same vein of thought but having the DNS records reveals nothing about how many users are using the indicated UC solution
We are using the Fortune 1000 domains list by Andrew Pavlo compiled in 2008. We have decided to use this same list to ensure that domains are the same as tested before for comparison.

2011 Report Results

You can read the entire report by clicking here.

2013 Report Results

Lync and XMPP External Client Access Enabled Among Fortune 1000 Domains

Fortune 1000 Domains With Lync (_sip._tls.) or XMPP External Client Access Enabled (_xmpp-client._tcp. SRV record present)

Lync	370	37%
XMPP	20	2%

Lync and XMPP Federation Among Fortune 1000 Domains

With Lync (_sipfederationtls._tcp.) or XMPP Federation Enabled. (_xmpp-server._tcp. SRV record present)

Lync	382	38%
XMPP	108	11%

Federation Growth Among Fortune 1000 Domains Comparison Between 11/2011 and 3/2013

In about 1 year 4 months Lync grew about 11% points among our fortune 1000 domain list. (since we did not have numbers on XMPP we can’t give growth of XMPP)

11/2013	255	26%
3/2013	382	38%

Skype 6.3 Brings Skype to Lync Voice Federation

2013-03-27T07:58:00.001-07:00

NOTE: You must have a Microsoft Account associated with the Skype user you want to call. Click Here

Skype 6.3 seems to bring Skype to Lync Voice. With Skype 6.2 we noticed that voice “kinda/partially” worked, but it appears that with Skype 6.3 calls can go in both directions and Caller ID seems to work correctly.

Skype 6.3 required for Lync <-> Skype Voice federation.

In Skype 6.2 the caller ID would not always indicate correctly, in 6.3 this seems to have been fixed and caller ID is indicated correctly in both Lync and Skype.

Video is NOT enabled a this time. (This means Lync <-> Skype voice is AHEAD of schedule and Video is still on track for the timeline Microsoft has indicated)

below is what happens if you try to start video from Lync (as expected)

Below you can see presence coming from Lync to Skype:

If you want my detailed analysis of how Lync <-> Skype federation works technically and behind the scenes, please click here.

Some other Lync <-> Skype articles you might have interest in:

How Do I Enable Lync <-> Skype Federation from Skype Side? Click Here
How Much Will Lync <-> Skype Federation Cost? Click Here
How Does Lync <-> Skype Federation Work Under the Hood? Click Here
Nov 2012: Lync <-> Skype IM/P Has Started Working: Click Here
Feb 2013: Lync <-> Skype Voice Has Started Working for Some: Click Here

XMPP Server Research

2013-03-27T07:42:00.001-07:00

I’ve built an app, the “Who Can Federate Tool”, that can search your Outlook contact list for Microsoft Lync enabled domains. ( with pretty good, but not perfect accuracy via the presence of a DNS SRV record _tcp._tls.) Thanks to the power of crowdsourcing, this tool and helpful participants have discovered over 15,000 domains that appear to be Lync federation enabled at some level.

Lately I’ve been looking more closely at XMPP and the federation opportunities that lie in XMPP.

A couple things I noticed in my research so far:

Google Has Started to Block XMPP Invites: Click Here
Lync 2013 XMPP functionality built into Edge Server Means Much More Connectivity: Click Here

But I started to wonder: How many XMPP servers are out there? Why not search for XMPP servers facing the web in the same way we search for Lync servers, by looking for the presence of an XMPP SRV record? (_xmpp-server._tcp.) I have a bulk DNS query tool that I developed to mass test a list of domains for presence of records. I have this tool chugging through the domains that currently are know to have Lync federation…

XMPP Server Initial Findings

Of the 15,255 known Lync federation enabled domains, only 1,201 or 8% are also XMPP federation⁴ enabled. This would indicate that the vast majority of Microsoft Lync implementations could benefit by implementing Lync Server 2013 XMPP built-in functionality.

Of Fortune 500 companies, 70 or 14% appear to have a public facing XMPP federation⁴.

XMPP Federation in Fortune 1000 companies², 108 or 11% appear to have a public facing XMPP federation⁴.

Fortune 1000 companies with external client access via XMPP is 20 or 2%.

Research Ongoing…

¹ Response to ._sip DNS considered “Microsoft UC public facing deployment”.
¹ Response to .sipfederationtls DNS considered “federated to UC partners”
² 2008 Fortune 1000 list by Andrew Pavlo: Click Here
³ 100 Oldest .COM Domains by tgdaily: Click Here
⁴ Response to ._XMPP-Server SRV DNS Record Considered “XMPP Federation”
⁵ Response to .XMPP-Client SRV DNS Record Consider “External Client Access”

http://wiki.xmpp.org/web/SRV_Records
http://www.lynclog.com/2012/07/lync-2013-xmpp-federation.html
http://windowspbx.blogspot.com/2011/11/new-informal-report-approximately-23-of.html

Google, WebRTC and Ads: Could Ads Show Up In Future Video Calls Coming from Chrome?

2013-03-25T12:35:00.001-07:00

Ads show up in Google searches. Ads show up in YouTube videos. Ads show up in Gmail.

But what about WebRTC? Could calls originating from Chrome have ads inserted? Could ads eventually play before you video call can commence? Or could there be transparent ads (much like Google+ water mark below?) at the bottom of a video calls? Or perhaps even more innovative: real-time transcription could suggest great solutions to problems being discussed in your video call or conference?

Just out of curiosity I’m wondering if this has been guaranteed against? Or is this just crazy and technically impossible? Would like your input. For some reason my “googling” seems to return nothing on this…