And the winner is… Microsoft! Once again the giant from Redmond is placed on the leaders quadrant for Unified Communications, according to Gartner.

Microsoft strengths:

• Microsoft is a strong company with an ecosystem of partners that can deliver value-added products, professional services and wide distribution.
• The company has strategic partnerships in specific areas, such as live voice, and IP and PBX add credibility in these technology and service areas.
• Parts of Microsoft’s UC portfolio are very mature (for instance, e-mail), and the overall portfolio is quite complete, with partnerships in weaker areas. The newer parts of the portfolio likely will get wide exposure throughout 2008 and will mature rapidly as a result.
• An established base of desktop applications and experience in graphical user interface design will assist in making complex communication applications easier to use.
• Enterprises looking into UC, particularly those with Microsoft applications already in place, should understand the Microsoft portfolio because it represents a new paradigm for communication by a market leader. Microsoft’s solution is comprehensive but is also the basis for a range of partner offerings.

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