Here's one of the many articles I picked up in RSS feeds catching up from my trip this week. More thoughts below.

Is Microsoft set to take over the VoIP space?
Takeaway: Past experience shows that once Microsoft sets its sights on a technology, it often comes to dominate the market. Will Redmond nudge current VoIP vendors off the playing field? Deb Shinder takes a look at the software giant's plans for VoIP.

When Microsoft gets into the game, other companies start to worry—and with good reason. Past experience shows that once the software giant sets its sights on a technology, it often comes to dominate the market, even when there are already well-established players.

Just look to the fall of once-top word-processing application WordPerfect to Microsoft Word, once-top Web browser Netscape to Internet Explorer, and once-top NetWare server software to Windows Server for examples. Most recently, antivirus and anti-malware vendors have looked on with trepidation as Microsoft has poured efforts into developing its OneCare consumer antivirus solution, Windows Defender anti-spyware, and business-oriented Forefront products based on its acquisition of Sybari Antigen.

First, my view on the question/title - Is Microsoft set to take over the VoIP space? Nope. not even close. They aren't a player. They aren't even a contender.

From a telecommunications and VoIP approach, Microsoft, like Apple, has no foundation upon which to build their threat axis to either VoIP or the telecommuncations space. And while Apple's Steve Jobs blodly stated the wild fantasy that Apple's reinventing the telecommuncations industry, that's pure hallucination. I'll have more to say on another post, but I'll go out with a comparison here that should be easily understood.

Apple's entrance into telecommunications, will have less, but comparable impact that Microsoft's Zune will have on  - pick your market. The Zune was DOA and a non-event. I know people are speculating, bit it was DOA. Rich Tehrani asks Is the Microsoft Zune Toast?

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, VoIP, Apple, iPhone, Zune