Microsoft and VoIP - Reality or Smoke?
I've seen several news stories in the past few days mentioning Microsoft's impending foray into VoIP. Here's an excerpt from one that caught my eye today.
Microsoft Begins VoIP ‘Bloodbath’Recently many people have tried out the Office Live beta and asked "where's the VoIP?" I can personally go a small step further. Looking at the beta MSN Live Messenger, one's still inclined to ask "where's the VoIP?" Oh, there's an audio conversation in there, but I haven't heard anyone describe it being more than a "me too" sort of effort. I could be wrong, but it hasn't overly impressed me so far. There are many far more mature and developed tools out there.
Jason Lee Miller
Staff Writer
Published: 2006-02-20
What many had speculated for a while seems to have been verified from the words of Steve Ballmer: Microsoft is entering the VoIP market, offering free calling through Wi-Fi-ready mobile phones running Office Communicator for Windows Mobile. Upon the news, one analyst predicted a "bloodbath" for mobile operator stocks.
Why is it every time Steve Ballmer speaks, I swear I hear the Imperial March in the background?
The Microsoft foray into the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) market shouldn't be that surprising. A 27-page whitepaper the Redmond, Washington-based company released in 2003 discussing the technology and ways to decrease the cost of voice and data communication was one hint.
Sure, there's lots of chatter around Office Communicator for Windows Mobile, but if you read really closely, most of what's out there is pretty content free. There's lots of hype, lots of specualition, and lots of guesswork. Not the makings of a "bloodbath" this week at all.
It's important to remember that nine times out of ten, when Steve Ballmer makes a public appearance like that, it's orchestrated to inflame emotions and stir the pot. Steve's presentations are designed to share information or answer questions. His role is to poke a stick in the nest and get the hornets buzzing.
As usual, he succeeded, but it's still going to be a while before we see anything resembling widespread adoption of a Microsoft VoIP solution.
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