Update - Microsoft preps Web front-end to IM server

Companies using Microsoft's Live Communications Server (LCS) 2005 will be able to provide Web access to the enterprise instant messaging system with a component the Redmond, Washington, software maker is currently developing.

The component that will open up LCS 2005 to browser users will go into a private beta, or test, period in mid-July and will become generally available around the end of 2005, a Microsoft official said Tuesday.

Microsoft hasn't settled yet on pricing or licensing details for this server-side component, called Office Communicator Web Access, said Ed Simnett, group product manager at Microsoft's Real Time Collaboration group.

An existing Web access product for LCS' previous version -- LCS 2003 -- from Alcatel's eDial division, called IM Web Access Server (IWA) 2.0, also works with LCS 2005, said Scott Petrack, eDial divisional chief executive officer.

Office Communicator Web Access will enable access to LCS 2005 from Microsoft's own Internet Explorer and from browsers made by other vendors, Simnett said, adding that it has yet to be determined which non-Microsoft browsers will be supported.

Communicator Web Access was formally announced Tuesday by Anoop Gupta, vice president of Microsoft's Real Time Collaboration group, during a panel at the Collaboration Technologies Conference in New York.

LCS 2005 began shipping in December and its preferred front-end is the PC application Office Communicator 2005, formerly called Istanbul, which is expected to ship by the end of this month.

Office Communicator 2005 works only on PCs running Windows XP and Windows 2000, Simnett said. However, a Web front end such as Office Communicator Web Access opens up LCS 2005 to PCs that either use older Windows versions or non-Windows operating systems, such as Mac OS and Linux, he said. It will also come in handy for LCS 2005 users who have Office Communicator 2005 on their primary work PC but also want to access the IM system from other PCs at home or on the road, Simnett said.

In addition to making LCS 2005 agnostic to PC operating systems, another use for Office Communicator Web Access could be to enable a company to offer chat-based support to customers from a Web site, said Lou Latham, a Gartner analyst.

Many customers who visit Web sites and don't request support via phone or e-mail will do so via a real-time chat interface, because it is convenient and they get an immediate response, Latham said. In addition to customer support, the online chat feature could even turn into a marketing tool to generate sales, he said.

The key, of course, would be for the company to make sure it has enough support staffers to provide this service and that they are properly trained, Latham said. This is why Latham recommends deploying chat-based support in a controlled-access Web site, such as an extranet, where traffic is lighter.

Office Communicator Web Access will definitely provide from its first iteration basic text-based instant messaging and presence functionality, Simnett said. It will be determined later what other types of IM communications and features it will offer and when.

In April, Microsoft announced it is developing a front-end to LCS 2005 that will let users access the system from mobile devices. At the time, Microsoft said this mobile front-end to LCS 2005 would go into beta in the second half of 2005.