I think a lot of people misunderstand Live Communications Server. Live Communications Server is basically a gateway that brings together collaborative applications. From a client application such as Office Communicator (This software is the Enterprise version of Messenger), you would connect to the LCS server and depending on all other applications and hardware you have invested on and interconnected through LCS, you would be able to use:
- Live Meeting - hosted service that allows you to do online conferring, which includes video if you have the hardware and get the appropriate service
- Phone - using a voice over IP and the Office Communicator client, you can route calls. For example, say that one day you decide to work at home instead of the office, you can connect to the LCS through Office Communicator and tell the system to forward all your calls home, your cell phone or any other call, without the caller knowing that they are being forwarded or having to give out your phone number. In addition, with Office Communicator you can use the video capabilities that Instant Messaging has.
- With LCS, you can choice to have instant messaging only internally within your company, between partners that also have LCS installed (this is what is called Federation) or even to the Internet to connect you to AOL, MSN and Yahoo without having to use multiple client interfaces.
- With LCS, you can control what they call Presence. Basically, this is a way for something similar to what Instant Messaging does to show whether you are busy, offline, etc. However, it gives the capability for users to have custom messages and even put a comment that is shown to users like saying “I am out of the office but you can reach me at my cell phone at 123-456-8901” or something else.
- LCS also allows you to integrate with other systems such as SharePoint and other things so from a centralized interface, you can get other information. For example, Microsoft interfaces theirs with their Support Ticketing system and a user can see information about tickets that are still open and other information.
So the video answer is basically yes but it depends on what hardware and software you have interfacing with it and what uses you really want. However, LCS alone does not provide that. You will have to use Office Communicator, Live Meeting or any other application that interfaces with it.
Hope this clarify your questions,
Gladys Rodriguez
GlobalStrata Solutions
Computer Repair, Website Design and Computer Consultant
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