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Lync Migration Week in Review: BetterCloud, Nectar, Gamma Telecom, Deutsche Telekom, Unify Square, Plantronics

A number of product releases and industry reports this week mark the continued development of Microsoft (News - Alert) Lync and proliferation of that platform throughout nearly all manner of global businesses.

To begin, BetterCloud, a company concerned with cloud-based data management and security, recently announced that it has updated its platform to work directly with Microsoft 365 and Lync. Its 32 million users worldwide may now have access to the new software which is still in beta test mode and offered to existing clients through signups. The company pointed to the need for a 360-degree view of organizations in order to make them effective in the marketplace. That is the impetus for aligning with Microsoft and the integrated future in which many associated clients may soon find themselves.

Remote networking and monitoring company Nectar (News - Alert) Services Corporation has also announced that its Converged Management Platform will now work with the Lync Software Defined Networking API. This convergence is available in the latest version of Nectar's platform, and future updates plan to allow its support for Skype for Business. Nectar said its goal is to create a network awareness for its clients that can clearly define what it happening with all their chosen applications. Lync and Skype are popular choices, so they are a natural extension for where Nectar wants to be.

U.K.-based Lync carrier Gamma Telecom recently launched its dedicated Microsoft Lync website which helps it clients navigate the inner workings of the Lync-compatible SIP trunks that Gamma provides. With those trunks, Lync can be connected to the public network and expand unified communications capabilities outside the walls of any business. However, it can also come with added complexity. Gamma hopes to ease any operating pains by offering that base support to its business clients.

Speaking of troubleshooting, Deutsche Telekom (News - Alert) recently announced that it has partnered with Unify Square to help extend the functionality of its PowerMon platform. Deutsche Telekom will combine its EnrichedBusinessCommunication product, a base for unified communications, with Unify Square's PowerMon to monitor system outages, network downtime, and Lync environments. TMC (News - Alert) said it expects that the pairing of these two products will create UC environments which are stable and can also recover quickly after outages.

Finally, it is worth noting the success that Plantronics (News - Alert) has had with its headsets that are compatible with Lync. It recently reached the mark of five million units sold which speaks volumes, perhaps literally, about the quality of the Plantronics units and definitely about the spread of Lync as a UC platform. While any headset should do the trick, TMC notes, businesses often purchase certified units from vendors because they believe they will work better than the competition. With Plantronics as just one vendor among many across the globe, it is easy to see how far Lync has spread through products sales to those markets.