News / Software
Microsoft forms unified communications group
On 2 February 2006, Microsoft announced an organisational change joining its Exchange server unit with the Real-Time Collaborations group. The new Unified Communications Group brought email, calendars and contacts closer to products for presence, messaging and voice.
Organisation before product merger
Microsoft stressed that the change did not immediately merge the former product lines into one server. Exchange 12 was still in beta, with a final release then expected late in 2006 or early in 2007. The account is therefore about management structure, not a delivered integrated product.
A broader workplace goal
The source describes an ambition to reduce the separation between corporate communication tools and business applications. Anoop Gupta was named to lead the combined group, while Exchange leadership continued under him. Separately reported finance appointments were part of Microsoft’s wider reorganisation. Product road maps were explicitly said to remain unchanged by the management move.