Today, organizations typically use separate equipment and wiring for phone and data networks. But widespread Internet adoption is making it practical to add voice and video communications to existing data networks. This merger can help companies increase productivity and business opportunities. For example, merging communications into a single network makes it possible to create applications that allow employees to access voice-mail, e-mail, and faxes from a single place.

Using a single network can also reduce costs by letting organizations make better use of communications equipment and eliminate redundant hardware, software, wiring, and support. Businesses can cut costs even more by using the Internet instead of private phone lines for selected communications. And focusing on a single infrastructure can help organizations improve network reliability and service quality.

Because of the cost and productivity advantages, it�s probable that all businesses will move toward a unified communications infrastructure over time. However, today the merger of voice, video, and data remains in the early stages of adoption. Applications that take advantage of advanced communications capabilities will likely appear first in larger organizations�with large numbers of relatively complex customer interactions.

By supporting Internet-standard data protocols and providing programmable communications services, the Microsoft� Windows� 2000 Server operating system provides a flexible foundation for merged data, voice, and video communications. Likewise, Windows 2000 Professional includes client services such as a phone dialer, and client software for browsing, conferencing, and streaming media. These Windows 2000 communications services can help you integrate voice, video, and data communications to give your organization the following capabilities:

Using Windows 2000 communications services, an organization can evolve its traditional telephone system to do much more than route phone calls. Rather than have the different ways a customer interacts with a company�phone, e-mail, and the Internet�handled by different systems, organizations can use Windows 2000 as the foundation for a single customer contact center. Creating this type of system gives an organization the ability to handle customer communications more efficiently, for example, by routing a phone call to the most qualified service representative, or to the appropriate salesperson.

By using integrated systems to streamline communications, a company can present a more professional image and help ensure customer satisfaction. Using an integrated system for customer contacts also offers a way for organizations to measure important aspects of their operations, such as response time for customer inquiries.

Just as organizations can use integrated communications to improve telephone interactions, they can also improve interactions over their Web site. A common use is the ability to add voice and video conferencing to an electronic commerce site. For example, customers visit your Web site and see a product they are interested in. They have some specific questions that they would like to discuss with someone. By clicking a button on the Web page, an application on the Web server locates an available product support expert and a video conference automatically opens�linking the support expert, customer, and the information of interest together.

Organizations seeking to increase productivity, reduce travel expenses, and improve communications between employees and partners are now looking to online video conferencing combined with online, real-time document sharing. Although this ability has existed for some time, it hasn�t been widely adopted for a number of reasons. For one thing, it was hard to set up the calls. By simplifying call setup, the technologies in Windows 2000 make it more practical to do spontaneous videoconferencing. Microsoft NetMeeting� 3.0 conferencing software enables quality multimedia conferencing that integrates voice, video, and data communications. In addition, Windows 2000 provides a new Internet Protocol (IP)-multicast-enabled phone dialer, which allows a client to take advantage of new Web-based broadcast services while providing integration with existing phone systems.