Boeing and France Telecom are among the big customers that Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) has nabbed so far for Lync, its revamped web-based calling and video-conferencing tool. With this latest iteration of the unified communications platform, the Redmond, Wash., software maker is aiming to make inroads in the Cisco-dominated enterprise telecom arena, reports BusinessWeek's Dina Bass.

Microsoft championed Lync as "ushering in a new generation of communications," and Bill Gates himself appeared at the launch via video. Gates said the move from legacy PBX systems to software-based communications is "probably the most important thing to happen to the office worker since the PC came along." (Ironically, for webcast viewers, Gates' audio and video "kept flickering in and out," reported Todd Bishop at TechFlash.)

Industry observers weren't quite so enthusiastic about Lync's capacity to change the world. Stripped of the ballyhoo, the technology amounts to a new, renamed version Office Communications Server, with updates that make it more reliable and competitive, writes NetworkWorld's Tim Greene. Lync comes with improved call control and "survivable branch infrastructure," which may persuade some businesses to swap out their PBXs.  

For more:
- see Dina Bass' article at BusinessWeek
- see Lync announcement at Microsoft blog
- see Todd Bishop's post at TechFlash
- see Tim Greene's article at NetworkWorld

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