Siemens is staying in the forefront of the news.

Siemens Communications and Microsoft Corp. today announced the expansion of global competitive efforts to advance the transformation of telephony, audio, video and Web conferencing, instant messaging and e-mail into a single unified communications platform. Cooperation between the two companies is rooted in a shared vision for unified communications that is people-centric, breaks down silos between different forms of communications systems and expands on ongoing efforts by the two companies to integrate technologies around Microsoft® Exchange Server and Microsoft Office Live Communications Server.

Here's the press release -

Microsoft and Siemens Collaborate to Usher in New Era of Unified Communications

Joint Initiative Accelerates the Transformation of Voice, Video and Data Communications into a Single Unified Communications Platform

SAN FRANCISCO & BOCA RATON, Fla. — June 26, 2006 — Siemens Communications and Microsoft Corp. today announced the expansion of global competitive efforts to advance the transformation of telephony, audio, video and Web conferencing, instant messaging and e-mail into a single unified communications platform. Cooperation between the two companies is rooted in a shared vision for unified communications that is people-centric, breaks down silos between different forms of communications systems and expands on ongoing efforts by the two companies to integrate technologies around Microsoft® Exchange Server and Microsoft Office Live Communications Server.

Anchoring the initiative will be new products and Siemens systems integration and support services to integrate the Siemens® HiPath® 8000 real-time telephony softswitch solution, utilizing an OpenScape® communications broker capability, with Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft Office Live Communications Server. The combined solutions will provide enterprise customers with the ability to cost-effectively transition from conventional PBX and voice-mail communications systems to Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 and Exchange Server 2007, in combination with the Siemens HiPath 8000 solution.

The combined technology, service and support offerings will enable enterprise customers to deploy Microsoft’s unified communications platform with features including innovative voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) call management, conferencing, unified messaging and instant messaging. The approach brings unified communications capabilities to organizations in an evolutionary way and ensures the highest quality of service and security.

“As the world of work changes, companies are realizing that a unified communications environment can reduce the cost of communications while providing richer capabilities that keep them competitive,” said Anoop Gupta, corporate vice president of the United Communications Group at Microsoft. “The collaborative efforts between Microsoft and Siemens will deliver a simple and flexible path to a complete range of unified communications solutions.”

“Combining the integration experience and robust capabilities of Microsoft and Siemens technologies will enable customers to fully realize the productivity improvements and cost benefits of unified communications built on a high-quality, reliable platform – creating a new and more productive user experience without losing support for legacy devices and applications,” said Thomas Zimmermann, president of Enterprise Network Systems at Siemens Communications. “The trusted integration services provided by Siemens in our integration channels also play a big role in providing assistance and quality as customers deploy these powerful new solutions.”

About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

About Siemens
Siemens AG (NYSE:SI) is one of the largest global electronics and engineering companies with reported worldwide sales of $96 billion in fiscal 2005. Founded nearly 160 years ago, the company is a leader in the areas Medical, Power, Automation and Control, Transportation, Information and Communications, Lighting, Building Technologies, Water Technologies and Services and Home Appliances. With its U.S. corporate headquarters in New York City, Siemens in the USA has sales of $18.8 billion and employs approximately 70,000 people throughout all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Eleven of Siemens' worldwide businesses are based in the United States. With its global headquarters in Munich, Siemens AG and its subsidiaries employ 460,000 people in 190 countries. For more information on Siemens in the United States: www.usa.siemens.com

About Siemens Communications Inc.
Siemens Communications Inc. offers its customers a broad portfolio of communication products and services and is a leader in convergent technologies, products and services for wireless, fixed and enterprise networks. The company’s portfolio ranges from devices for end users to complex network infrastructures and complementary services for enterprises, carriers and service providers. Siemens Communications Inc. is headquartered in Boca Raton, Fla. For more information, visit www.usa.siemens.com/communications

Note: Siemens, HiPath and OpenScape are registered trademarks of Siemens AG or its subsidiaries and affiliates. All other company, brand, product and service names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

This release contains forward-looking statements based on beliefs of Siemens management. The words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "forecast," "expect," "intend," "plan," "should," and "project" are used to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the company's current views with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause the actual results to be materially different, including, among others, changes in general economic and business conditions, changes in currency exchange rates and interest rates, introduction of competing products, lack of acceptance of new products or services and changes in business strategy. Actual results may vary materially from those projected here. Siemens does not intend or assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

###