Cisco CallManager integration with Office Communications Server 2007 just got easier - and officially supported

I have a few OCS related posts in the wings but I've been tied up with travel, work and home activities, so they are currently stuck in Draft mode. I'm still behind on many items I need to complete before I can even think of finishing off those articles.

With that said though, this announcement from MS is worth an entry because it will make my life in the upcoming months that much easier. I've been doing a lot of Cisco/MS integration work this year, and there have always been many interesting gotchas.

Cisco Unified Communications Manager (aka CallManager) versions 4.2, 5.1 and 6.1 are now certified for Direct SIP connectivity with Office Communications Server.

Direct SIP allows connectivity between the OCS mediation server and the Cisco IP-PBX without the need for a gateway, meaning that Office Communicator users can be enabled for Enterprise Voice (i.e. Office Communicator is a full soft-phone, not just click-to-call or RCC) without significant upgrades or hardware replacements.

Read more about it here.