Microsoft Teams Up With Japanese VoIP Carrier

paritosh wrote to mention an Ars article about the joining up of Microsoft and Softbank to provide enterprise-level VoIP, IM, email, Internet, and groupware to the Japanese market. They are already discussing bringing it to the U.S. if it succeeds there. From the article: "With Softbank BB supplying most of the VoIP infrastructure, Microsoft's primary focus in this agreement will be providing hosted versions of its server products. Some of the products mentioned in the agreement include Exchange 2003, Office Live Communications Server 2005 and SharePoint. I wouldn't be surprised to see Windows Messenger make its way into the mix considering its new PC-to-POTS capability, which can act as a segue into the larger areas of the VoIP market in North America."

Comments

MS and VoIP?

[grasshoppa]

Yeah, sorry, no. MS doesn't exactly have a winning track record when it comes to reliability, and VoIP is not something you want to be flaky. People just won't stand for it.

On top of the fact there are tons of internet based voip players out there that give people more options than they might ever need. Further, voip over the internet is too flaky for business use. All of these factors hurt anything MS may try in this field, and they aren't equipped to do it right.

Re:MS and VoIP?

[grasshoppa]

How has this hurt Microsoft before? How has an unreliable product put into a market that already has many alternative reliable products ever stopped Microsoft?

It's really no different than MS getting into the toaster market. There is a level of expectation people have for appliances, and they freak out when an appliance starts acting up. Add in to the mix that those same people who have a certain level of expectations in their phone systems are business types, and you have to tread carefully.

I know. I do voip stuff ( with asterisk. ask for it by name ), and normal, rational people get very weird when something acts up in a phone system. Even if it's something that doesn't actually mean anything ( like the tones don't echo, or it takes longer to connect a call than they are used to. ). Businesses depend on their phone systems more so than their computers, and with the advent of computers in the work place, the phones are kind of seen as the last bastion of technology that "Just Works", making them that much more precious.

I refuse to setup someone's business using voip over the internet, given how flaky it can be. If that's truly what MS wants to try, more power to them, but they will fail hard. Further, it will damage their already shaky rep.

Re:MS and VoIP?

[Anonymous Coward]

Microsoft counters any attack on their reputation with the same strategy: make a TV ad showing how computers and Microsoft products actually makes children smarter and *love* to learn. It appears that it has been a fairly effective strategy so far. If you doubt it, go out on the street and ask people who invented the Internet. Discard the Al Gore reponses (and I certainly hope that out on the street does not mean on the street at MIT).

I think you miss an important thing about how Microsoft markets their products. You take one successful product and bind it to another. Then you take control of the new market by leveraging the old one. Making your product incompatible with other products helps prevent users from bouncing around. Now make TV ads showing how children learn faster with MS voip. And it makes them happier, and stronger too!

Remember that people use MS products because they have no choice!

Are they starting to try to compete with Asterisk?

[IntelliAdmin]

It looks like a small step in the direction for Microsoft to start trying to compete in this space. They have a long road ahead of them.

so they can listen

[Evilhomer2300]

This is all a ploy to launch a VOIP so they can listen in on our conversations, and blow up the computers of those not running windows. Careful, they may copy our voices and turn them into speaking bots ALA Microsoft Sam narrator voice.

VoIP 'inovation' MS style?

[AHuxley]

When will ppl learn. Your phone system is not the desktop.
The idea of voice over ip is to reuse 'ip' to send voice, not send more cash back to M$.

M$ takes an existing product and extends it.
After dumbing down and corporatizing up what are we left with?
A new generation of beta grade voip software at enterprise rates - no saving for you.

And for 20 year ppl line up and ask for more?
Do you really want to dial 911 and get Clippy telling you about a great new deal?

POTS?

[nick_davison]

I wouldn't be surprised to see Windows Messenger make its way into the mix considering its new PC-to-POTS capability

Personal Computer - to - Piece Of Total Sh!te?

A new feature under Messanger? I thought Windows had had that as a default part of the install for years?

Microsoft + Japanese VOIP = LOL

[timecop]

Haha, okay, I'll bite this obvious troll.

Anyone who knows anythign about Japanese VOIP will tell you immediately what a total piece of shit it is. First of all, Softbank is NOT a "VOIP Carrier". There are no VOIP carriers in Japan other than NTT. Anyone who tells you otherwise doesnt know the situation. What happens is you have NTT reselling lines to smaller companies. More on this later.

The real failure with Japanese VOIP (other than per-minute charges for voip calls!) is the whole new "050" prefix where all voip shit goes to. Yes, you can get a new voip number, but it will be some random 10-digit 050 prefix number taht you'll have to tell everyone. Number portability? forget it.

There's the new overpriced hikari denwa service which lets you (finally) have a landline phone # tied to voip but it requires a) expensive and unavailable in 99% of Japan NTT-flets connection, b) still bills 8yen/3 minutes for all calls (and increases with distance)... What the fuck are they thinking?

Then there's like 1000 "ISPs" selling "IP-Phone" services, but all they are doing is reselling NTT garbage. SO you take already expensive NTT rate, add on some extra shit by each ISP, and you got a total failure in the works.

Its actually cheaper to buy voip line from a u.s. company (vonage, broadvoice, etc) because there are no flat-rate long distance plans offered by jap voip - with broadvoice you can even have flat-rate calls INSiDE JAPAN (to landline, not mobile numbers) - for like $30 a month.

What does microsoft have to do with this? Probably nothing, but I thought a good rant on the current situation of Jap voip would be appropriate for this article.

The Way Of The Damned

[Anonymous Coward]

A brief introduction to the art of Japanese business.

1. Express an interest in a new product.
2. Buy new product and see how it works.
3. Make a better one.
4. Own the world.

This time next year, we may look back on this and smile.

Just for a moment

[TractorBarry]

>I wouldn't be surprised to see Windows Messenger make its way into the mix considering its new PC-to-POTS capability

Hells teeth... I read that as "considering its new PC-to BOTS capability" Now I know Windows machines are partial to being Zombified but that would be ridiculous !