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For those that have been utilising Microsoft Unified Messaging (UM), or as some call it voice mail, there are some user experience differences to be aware of when migrating from Exchange 2007 to 2010.

I’m referring to the way in which end-user configuration is manifested, upon execution of the  “Manage Voice Mail” button within Outlook (as seen below in Outlook 2010).

For Exchange 2007 hosted mailboxes the Outlook client connects to a Unified Messaging Web Service, typically https://mail.domain.com/UnifiedMessaging/service.asmx and a friendly Outlook based UI is presented (see example below)

Where as with Exchange 2010 hosted mailboxes you are directed to the voice mail options within Outlook Web App (see example below) – pay reference to the URL, the correct internal/external address is handled by the Autodiscover service.

Whilst the UM user experience on Exchange 2007 could be considered superior (for Outlook based users), I can understand the benefits of the Exchange 2010 approach – deployment is simplified and speaking from personal experience, it is generally more reliable.

For more information on Autodiscover URL configuration within Exchange 2010, this TechNet article is a good place to start!

Last month I asked all readers to submit their favourite new piece of Lync functionality in aim of a “personal favourite” being picked on January 1st (today) and the winner receiving a Polycom CX300 used at TechEd 2010.

 The winning feature was submitted by Adler Catalin, his/her comment was:

I came across an interesting Computer Weekly article that was published back in April 2010, it was brought about via a study conducted by Microsoft – specifically targeting the economic challenges being experienced by public/private sector businesses and employee expertise retention.

The video (below) will do a better job in delivering this message than I, however the key take aways here are that our enterprise technology platforms should be built to support these “new ways of working” – enter Unified Communications!

So in case you needed reminding why Communications Server or Lync Server should form a part of your IT strategy watch an interesting video commissioned by Microsoft Research below:

This is clearly documented within the AudioCodes “Fast Track Guide”, right? – well yes and no. AudioCodes decided to miss a critical piece of information which cost me 2 hours of my precious life (ultimately I would have expected it to take 2mins!) 

The documentation supplied can be seen below: 

The key factor that needs to be considered, is where the above is performed whilst a network cable is connected – should this be the case then the reset process is completely disregarded! Therefore ensure your Ethernet cable is disconnected throughout this procedure and wait until the “fail” light is off before re-connecting your cable.

Here’s hoping this saves you some time and AudioCodes update their documentation! 🙂

Off the back of my participation at Tech-Ed 2010 a very kind Microsoft employee named “Albert”, donated one of the CX300 devices used to demonstrate Lync at the product stand. I could of course hold on to this fantastic device – the CX300 is a personal favourite of mine, but instead I thought how about giving it away to you guys?

Entry rules are as follows:

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I have had a number of e-mails/comments asking how you enable a user from within Active Directory for Lync, which this might be considered by most a simple task (for those that are PowerShell challenged), in can be confusing…never fear help is at hand a step-by-step guide can be found below:

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