Today, during a keynote address at 3GSM World Conference 2006, Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft Corp., announced the upcoming availability of Microsoft ® Office Communicator Mobile for Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2005. Based on the user interface of the Microsoft Office Communicator 2005 desktop client, Communicator Mobile is a unified communications client that provides information workers with a premier mobile collaboration experience through native integration of mobile applications with enterprise-grade, real-time communications tools. The client goes beyond simple voice services, incorporating connected communication modes such as security-enhanced instant messaging (IM), presence awareness and integrated Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony.

“Communicator Mobile is one of Microsoft’s steps in extending Live Communications Server’s capabilities to mobile devices, enabling companies to deploy IM and presence-enabled solutions that provide a consistent real-time communications experience across PCs and smart mobile devices,” said Gurdeep Pall, corporate vice president for the Unified Communications Group at Microsoft. “The new client is a key component of Microsoft’s vision for unified communications, putting people at the center and enabling information workers to have access to real-time communications capabilities virtually anytime, anywhere, on any device.”

Communicator Mobile’s integration with Live Communications Server provides information workers with the advantages of rich presence information and security-enhanced, enterprise-grade IM for their mobile solutions. Deploying the Communicator Mobile client with Live Communications Server uncovers new mobile scenarios for information workers such as on-premise IM and presence on Windows Mobile ® -based devices using Wi-Fi networks, remote access to Live Communications Server systems over mobile phone networks, and remote access to enterprise collaboration resources from Wi-Fi hot spots or home networks.