Microsoft announces R2 of OCS 2007

Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 Release 2 (R2) has been announced and is currently in "private beta" testing. Customers will be able to buy the new release starting in February 2009.

OCS 2007 R2 (or maybe just R2) adds dial-in audio conferencing support, desktop sharing with audio communications and collaboration through a web-based interface, and persistent group chat. The persistent group chat feature provides a list of all available chat rooms and topics along with periodic archiving of discussions in an XML format; tools are available to search the entire history of discussion on a given topic, and filters and alerts are able to notify someone of new posts or topics on a particular topic.

Other enhancements include an attendant console that allows for delegation of call management with configuration of workflows to route calls, SIP trunking, a response group application to manage incoming calls based upon user-configured rules, and extension of Microsoft Office Communication Mobile functionality to Nokia S40, Motorola RAZR, Blackberry and Windows Mobile platforms. Developers get more APIs and Visual Studio integration.

For more:
- Microsoft release [1] on the coming of OCS 2007 R2