August 21, 2003 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- Microsoft (microsoft.com) may emerge as a "formidable player" in telecommunications, according to a new report by research and analysis firm IDC (idc.com).
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According to IDC, Microsoft is likely to be a part of a battle that is looming between IT vendors and telecom carriers over the enterprise desktop and emerging services and applications based on voice over IP and the SIP standard.
Enhanced services and applications such as unified communications, presence, find me/follow me, conferencing, desktop integration, collaborative systems, and integration with business applications such as CRM, represent potential areas of competition.
"These new collaborative capabilities represent the logical end point of IT and telecom convergence centering on the desktop as both a target opportunity and a central point of focused competition between IT-oriented and telecom-oriented players," said Tom Valovic, director of IDC's IP Telephony Program.
Some of the vendors IDC said will be at the center of this competition include Cisco, Avaya, Alcatel, Siemens, Nortel, and 3Com.
