Microsoft and HP team up on communications

The unified comms market is set to grow at an annual rate of 35.9 per cent

Microsoft and HP have allocated $180m (£115m) to build and promote a new unified communications system.

The system will combine messaging, video and voice communications and applications into a single portal, and will work across PCs, mobile phones and other devices.

"Customers can lower costs and rapidly enhance employee productivity with unified communications, and collaboration from HP and Microsoft," said Ann Livermore, executive vice president of HP's Technology Solutions Group.

"We provide customers with solutions that are rich, intuitive and accessible from anywhere on nearly any device."

The deal marks HP's first step into the IP phone business, and the system will be driven by the company's ProCurve line of networking products. Microsoft will provide the software support using Office SharePoint Server, Exchange Server and Office Communications Server.

The two companies already work together on a variety of projects under the HP/Microsoft Frontline Partnership, and this latest system is an extension of the earlier collaboration.

"Together we are offering the extensive breadth of capabilities of our respective technologies to deliver a truly unified communications and collaboration solution to help our customers improve business productivity," said Stephen Elop, president of Microsoft's Business Division.

"This means one click to communicate, one click to conference, one click to collaborate."

Unified communications suites are already on the market from companies like IBM and Cisco, but sales have been flat or declining over the past year due to tightening economic budgets.

However, a recent report by Forrester Research suggests that demand is strong, and that 84 per cent of large companies in North America and Europe are examining the technology. Forrester also estimates that the market will grow at an annual rate of 35.9 per cent until 2015.