Microsoft has given the next generation of its Office Communications software suite a streamlined, marketing-friendly name: Lync. Meant as a combination of “link” and “sync,” Lync 2010 and Lync Server 2010 will offer users a unified end-user platform for enterprise telephony, instant messaging, video and audio conferencing, and application and desktop sharing.
Lync has been built with an eye towards interoperability with Microsoft Office, SharePoint and Exchange. Other features include the ability to select multiple people from a contact list to make a group call; test a network connection before initiating a video call; and flipping between VOIP (voice over IP), instant messenger, video, and app sharing within the same client experience.
The Lync family will also be complemented by Lync Online, a hosted service that rebrands Microsoft Office Communications Online.
For more, read the eWeek article Microsoft Lync: Office Communciations Software Rebranded.