(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Web hosting software provider DotNetPanel (www.dotnetpanel.com) announced on Tuesday that it had introduced a module for Microsoft’s Office Communications Server 2007, designed to make it easy for hosting companies using DotNetPanel to provide instant messaging, conferencing and enterprise voice to customers.
Introducing value-added services is a tried and true business model for hosting providers serving the SMB market, with hosted email being the best example, and the easiest sell. So-called “unified communications,” which tend to include the other services delivered by OCS – IM, conferencing and voice – are a very logical extension of email services.
“Our new Office Communications Server 2007 module completes the unified communications and productivity (Dynamics CRM) platform built into the DotNetPanel Windows hosting control panel by including other enterprise modules such as Exchange 2007, SharePoint, and Dynamics CRM,” said Feodor Fitsner, director of DotNetPanel, quoted in the company’s press release. “The DotNetPanel Office Communications Server 2007 module is directly integrated with all DotNetPanel hosting control panel enterprise modules, making it easier for customers to provide multiple services from one control panel.”
The new module, says DotNetPanel, makes it easy for administrators to enable new and existing user accounts in OCS, control account properties and provides “an enhanced voice communications presence.”
The company says the module is part of the most recent version of DotNetPanel, 2.8.7, and is currently in its beta stage. Customers can sign up for the beta and will receive the module for free during the beta testing phase, which is expected to end “some time in October.”
The DotNetPanel control panel is focused on the Windows platform, making the incorporating of Microsoft-developed solutions for unified communications a common sense extension of the platform.
A free version of the control panel is available for download at the company’s website.
