Microsoft is set to announce pricing and licensing details for its Office Live Communications Server 2003 on Monday, entering the final stretch for delivery of the enterprise instant messaging product by the end of the year. The estimated retail price for Office Live Communications Server 2003, previously known as Office Real Time Communications Server 2003 and by its "Greenwich" code name, will be $929 for the server software and $34.95 per client access license, said Ed Simnett, lead product manager at Microsoft in an interview. The pricing details will be posted to Microsoft's Web site on Monday. Details on availability, specifically release to manufacturing of Office Live Communications Server 2003, are expected soon, possibly later in the week, according to sources familiar with Microsoft's plans. General availability of the IM product is scheduled for later this year, a company spokesperson said.

The licensing plan for Office Live Communications Server 2003 is in line with other Microsoft server products. Customers who place large orders typically get discounts. Software Assurance, Microsoft's software maintenance plan, costs 25 percent of the license fee per year, the percentage Microsoft charges for all its server software products. Pricing for Office Live Communications Server 2003 is "reasonable" for a customer who needs internal IM and compared with prices for other Microsoft server products, said Matt Rosoff, an analyst with independent research company Directions on Microsoft, in Kirkland, Washington.