Cisco Expands Base UC to Include Presence and IM

I came across a Network World article on how Cisco is adding IM software as a basic feature of their UC offering. I think this is interesting news. Basically, Cisco is going to include Jabber and their Unified Presence Server (CUPS) at no extra charge to customers that have Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM). 

Customers who have CUCM 7.1 and above will get Jabber IM client and CUPS. It sounds like this won't be limited to users with IP phones. So, if you have a telephony solution that has a mix of call processing solutions (CUCM and Avaya, for example) you will be able to offer presence and IM features to all enterprise users. IOW, you don't need to have an IP phone or CUWL user license to make the IM and Presence capabilities available to your enterprise users.

My understanding is that we are talking IM and presence here - not voice and video services. These will likely be optional features that customers can add where and when it makes sense. 

I think this is a good play and a necessary move to competitively position CUPS/Jabber against MS Lync. Also, I have had this sneaking suspicion that presence capabilities may one day be built into the CUCM application (does anyone remember the Unified Mobility server?). I am just speculating here but it isn't what one could call completely unfounded.

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