Device blends phone and IM

Siemens has announced it is testing its OpenScape collaboration and communication management software in Europe, in preparation for a launch later this year. The tools are based on the Greenwich real-time collaboration technology developed by Microsoft for Windows Server 2003, and will encourage greater use of messaging and multimedia conferencing, said Siemens.

OpenScape is designed to give users flexible control over messaging, conferencing and video communications - allowing them to set preferences and priorities for the types of communication they will accept.

OpenScape will be formally launched in October, or whenever Microsoft delivers Greenwich. Microsoft's Greenwich will have a low price - some predict $25 (£15) per user - and will cause huge growth in corporate use of instant messaging, predicted Rob House, manager of collaboration at Siemens in Europe.

OpenScape offers a collaboration environment on top of the Microsoft technology. US sources expect OpenScape to cost less than $400 (£240) per seat. The product has its own multi-port conference unit which blends streams of data to support conferences. It also integrates with third-party conferencing products, including WebEx from WebEx Business Communications, with which OpenScape was demonstrated last month, and PlaceWare, recently bought by Microsoft.

OpenScape allows users to decide who can make contact, and through which channels, potentially reducing the number of emails, messages and phone calls they have to deal with. For example, a user might allow instant messages to arrive during voice conferences, but only if they are from their manager; other people would be told that their messages are delayed until after the call. "It lets you get the message right first time, and avoid the disrupted comms landscape," said House. "It puts the control back in the recipient's hands and avoids information overload."

Siemens said the Microsoft technology will encourage more firms to use multimedia collaboration tools.

Users will be able to "upgrade" phone calls to include multimedia conferencing, said Siemens' product manager Peter Cattell: "Communication can start at the lowest denominator, such as a voice call, then advance to video conferencing, to document sharing based on the OpenScape MCU, or to full collaboration using a product such as PlaceWare. You don't have to spend 20 minutes setting up a conference."

Graham Walker, managing director of Siemens Communications, added that OpenScape "will prove to be a major turning point in overcoming the problem of information and message overload".

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