Before you get locked into Lync, consider open source options

“As Microsoft’s strategy is to grow Lync sales by selling into
the Microsoft Office installed base, the first alternative you
should consider is Google Apps, a direct cloud competitor of
Microsoft’s Office 365. Although Google doesn’t yet offer a PBX,
OnState Communications offers a cloud-based PBX in the Google Apps
Marketplace. It also stands to reason that Google will add some
degree of PBX capabilities to Google Apps.

“Twilio, a self-described cloud communications vendor, offers a
platform to build voice and SMS applications using simple APIs.
Twilio also offers an open source phone system through its OpenVBX
offering. Twilio is targeted at developers, whereas Lync is a
ready-to-use platform for companies. However, systems integrators
or managed service providers could take the Twilio APIs and build a
repeatable solution that offers much of Lync’s capabilities.”

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