IP PBX

MICROSOFT RESPONSE POINT GETS BETTER AND BETTER AND BETTER - SP2 IS ON THE WAY!

We cannot say enough good things about Response Point - it is one of the best products we have ever seen come from Microsoft! RP Makes a small business appear like a big business to its customers and the ability of getting voicemail via email, archiving, reporting and so many other things make RP a MUST HAVE for business that need 50 phones are less.

The SP2 release, slated for FEB 2009, adds the feature we have been waiting for - the ability to take your RP phone HOME from the office, connected it to your internet, and have it appear to STILL be on the office network. If you need to work from home temporarily (waiting for that new refrigerator to be delivered!) or maybe you want your employ-ees to work from home as a rule (remote workers) you can have your phone with you. And the cost? ZERO. It is a FREE upgrade and requires NO NEW HARDWARE.

Ed Carnes of Carnes Group works closely with the Microsoft Response Point team on the VAR Council and as an active partipant in the growth and direction of the product.  Carnes Group has been using Response Point internally since initial Microsoft field testing in SEP 2007.

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Microsoft Response Point

Microsoft Response Point is an advanced software-based telephone system developed by Microsoft. Response Point, a PBX system targeting small businesses with less than 50 employees,was launched in March 2007, with systems available on the market in the fourth quarter of that year.Response Point is VoIP-based, and uses SIP as its' signaling and call setup protocol.Response Point supports voicemail and multi-party calling in addition to two party VoIP calls.Response Point features innovative voice recognition technology to manage calls and voice mail. Voicemail messages can, optionally, be sent to e-mail where they can be retrieved and archived. Response Point voice dialing can works with the Response Point phone directory which is currently limited to 1100 contacts per user. Contacts may be imported from the Windows Address Book or Microsoft Outlook.Response Point automatically detects gateways and phones connected to the network.

Quanta's Syspine was the first OEM product on the market. D-Link followed shortly afterward with their VoiceCenter product. Aastra became the third OEM entry with a system, Aastralink RP, introduced in July 2008 coinciding with the delivery of Response Point Service Pack 1.

Announcements in September 2008 have added additional manufacturers providing new gateway options (a T1/E1/PRI gateway and a 4-port FXS gateway) and new phone options (full-duplex conference room phones).

Service Pack 1

MS Response Point Service Pack 1 (RP SP1) was released in July 2008 with the following features:

    * Click-to-Call Dialing (the ability to double-click or right-click on a co-worker's extension or an imported Outlook contact, and automatically dial the phone in that fashion)
    * SIP trunking support (SIP trunking allows an PBX owner to replace traditional PSTN lines with PSTN connectivity via a SIP trunking service provider (ITSP). This new support allows RP to use a supported SIP Trunking provider if there is an internet connection provided to the RP base unit)
    * Direct-inward-dial (DID) support when used with a SIP Trunking provider (ITSP)
    * Enhanced call logging functionality in the RP Administrator program
    * Several call handling and performance improvements
    * Updates and enhancements to the RP Assistant and RP Administrator programs
    * 'Barge in' which allows users to interrupt a voice prompt with a voice command, rather than being required to wait for the voice prompt to complete before speaking the command.

Upcoming Features

In their Town Hall meeting on October 30th 2008, Microsoft released a roadmap of upcoming features. The roadmap is split into two categories - 'Sooner' and 'Later'. The 'Sooner' release is expected to be in the Feb 2009 timeframe or before, and the 'Later' release is expected to be in the July 2009 timeframe.

The 'Sooner' release includes:

    * After hours
    * B2BUA (from 8×8)
    * Conference Room phone (from ClearOne)
    * FXS Gateway (from Quintum)
    * In-band DTMF improvements
    * Intercom
    * Incoming Call Toast Customization
    * T1 Gateway (from Quintum and Sangoma)
    * VPN/WAN support

The 'Later' release includes:

    * Also-ring
    * Automatic backup
    * BLF
    * Branch offices
    * Conferencing
    * Dial plan
    * International
    * Key-system-like experience
    * Outlook add-in
    * Remote extensions
    * Remote web admin
    * Soft phone
    * Speech/blue-btn enhancements