I was late to the UC session, due to some conversations with Microsoft people about SharePoint over coffee.

On entering the room, a lady from Wintec, a tertiary educational institution in NZ, was discussing some of the business challenges they are facing around educational service delivery in NZ, eg, low unemployment, the need for remote delivery of services, more flexible delivery, and more.

A year ago, they decided to build a future ready foundation, and signed up for the Early Adoption Programmes for Vista, Office 2007, and Exchange 2007. They also went with Softgrid, SharePoint Server 2007, and Office Communications Server 2007. Wintec is a very Microsoft centric organization, by design and agreement from the CEO down.

Why OCS for an educational institution? Easier communication with international students. Sanctioned I’m, rather than Skype. Distance teaching and learning. Staff on the move both domestically and internationally, telecommuting, etc.

Key decision points … (1) To get the latest from Microsoft, (2) it met IT requirements, (3) seamless access for Internet clients and options for external access. The adoption was aligned with the IT Strategy too.

Benefits have been experienced in ease of communication, reduced travel cost and time, and lower mobility costs.

Steve from Microsoft then gave a demonstration of OCS and Office Communicator.