There’s a seismic shift that you might have missed: Microsoft’s merging of its Exchange group under a new Unified Communications Group (UCG) almost a year and a half ago. You’ve probably noticed more coverage of UC on the Exchange & Outlook Pro VIP and Windows IT Pro sites. (See the list of UC articles at the end of the commentary.) Perhaps you dismissed UC outright as another Microsoft marketing ploy, or maybe you’re curious about UC but wonder what it has to do with your current job duties managing Exchange Server.
I’m here to tell you that Microsoft is serious about UC, and it’s something you need to start paying attention to. Even if your job now is centered mainly on administering Exchange, at some point in the foreseeable future, you could find new tasks creeping into your job description. You might be working with telephony and telecom folks, to integrate your Exchange services with VoIP softphones that give users a voice phone on their computer, which works in tandem with email, IM, and Web and videoconferencing. It’s a good bet that corporate management will turn to the messaging arm of IT to provide these services—and you’ll need to be ready to meet such requests. . . .
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