Many readers of this blog are interesting in BlackBerry support for Microsoft OCS 2007 R2 and Lync, so I wanted to provide this [...]]]> April 4, 2011 Update:  BES 5.0 SP3 has been released which adds support for Microsoft OCS 2007 R2. See Blackberry Support for OCS 2007 R2 and Lync is Now Available for more information.

Many readers of this blog are interesting in BlackBerry support for Microsoft OCS 2007 R2 and Lync, so I wanted to provide this quick update.

RIM has recently updated their BlackBerry Enterprise Server Add-on product website to mention support for Microsoft® Lync® Server 2010 as “…being available in an upcoming BlackBerry Enterprise Server Service Pack.”

OCS 2007 R2 is not specifically listed here, but some recent product roadmap slides from RIM mention that  “The latest BES will add a host of new features including …. certification with Microsoft OCS 2007 R2 and Lync 2010”. It also mentions that this will be in BES 5.0.3 (as a Service Pack) and it will be available “in early 2011”.

Thanks to Graham_Walsh (on Twitter) for flagging this.

You can read more about BlackBerry Client Support for OCS 2007 R2 today here: http://blog.insideocs.com/2009/07/31/blackberry%C2%AE-client-support-for-ocs-r2/.

A quick post regarding the availability of a native BlackBerry client that works with OCS 2007 R2.

A representative from RIM recently confirmed that a [...]]]> April 4, 2011 Update:  BES 5.0 SP3 has been released which adds support for Microsoft OCS 2007 R2. SeeBlackberry Support for OCS 2007 R2 and Lync is Now Available for more information.

A quick post regarding the availability of a native BlackBerry client that works with OCS 2007 R2.

A representative from RIM recently confirmed that a BlackBerry client that works with OCS 2007 R2 is in the works. They are building this client to work with the next release of OCS (see OCS in 2010 – The UC 14 Wave) but it will be backward compatible and work with OCS 2007 R2 – RIM understandably doesn’t want to build a version now solely for OCS 2007 R2 and then have to build another to support the next release of OCS.

No specific release date is available, although ‘this summer’ was mentioned, and I imagine it will be available no later than when the OCS Wave 14 release – which will be ‘late in 2010′. I have also heard several reports that Blackberry Enterprise Server 5.0.2 will support OCS 2007 R2 integration.

For more information see the previous blog entry: BlackBerry® Client Support for OCS R2.

November 2011 Update: Microsoft has publicly announced and is still on track to release a Lync client for the iOS (iPhone/iPad), Android, [...]]]> December 2011 Update: Microsoft has released the server-side components and accompanying documentation for the new Lync mobility clients that will be available shortly. See Lync 2010 Mobility Service and Documentation Available for more information.

November 2011 Update: Microsoft has publicly announced and is still on track to release a Lync client for the iOS (iPhone/iPad), Android, and other smartphone’s by year end 2011.

November 2010 Update:  Microsoft announced at the Lync Launch event that a Lync client for the iPhone will be available within the next year.

Several readers of my blog have asked about the availability of an OCS client for the iPhone. I recently tried iDialog from Modality Systems (http://www.modalitysystems.com/idialog/) and wanted to share my experience. iDialog is an iPhone (and iTouch) application providing OCS contact list presence information and 2-party instant messaging (see here for the full list of features including the ability to search the corporate GAL).

In general, it worked as advertised, and I love getting OCS presence on my iPhone! In addition to seeing Presence and IM, it is useful to see current free-busy information for several of my contacts (e.g. “Free for the next 2 hours”) and having access to GAL details.

There were some minor nuisances such as initially having to manually expand the “All Contacts” group to see my contacts, and a periodic small delay when typing in an IM session.

Here are some other key notes:

1. There is no ability to do VoIP audio calls (aka Communicator calls). I didn’t really miss this though because I am on a mobile device and can call through the cellular network. I could see some users wanting to take advantage of a WiFi connection and do a VoIP call though.
2. It works for OCS 2007 and OCS 2007 R2 (corporate and hosted) via the OCS Communicator Web Access server, so an external facing OCS 2007 CWA must be available for it to work.
3. Given that presence can be a chatty protocol, one of the first questions I had was “How much data does it use?”. Modality Systems told me that approximately 1.2 kpbs is used over a 5 minute interval of “normal” usage. This is not broken down into presence and IM, but it gives a ballpark approximation.
4. It does not support running in the background, so having persistent chat’s while you do other things on your iPhone is an issue.

iDialog can be purchased via the Apple iTunes Application Store. I purchased mine for $9.99 Cdn (from the Canadian App Store). I have been told that an update is coming shortly which address some outstanding issues (including the IM typing delay).

All-in-all it was an iPhone application worth purchasing but I would like to try a couple of other options to get the run-in-the-background functionality.

You can read more about OCS mobility options in my “Mobile Options for OCS” blog post.

Original Post:

I have been asked several times recently about the BlackBerry® client support for OCS R2 (RIM makes a BlackBerry client that works with OCS. You can read more about it in my original post: Mobile Options for OCS).

The short answer [...]]]> **April 2011 Update: Blackberry Support for OCS 2007 R2 and Lync is Now Available

Original Post:

I have been asked several times recently about the BlackBerry® client support for OCS R2 (RIM makes a BlackBerry client that works with OCS. You can read more about it in my original post: Mobile Options for OCS).

The short answer is that OCS R2 is not supported, however there is a workaround that amounts to leaving an OCS R1 CWA (Communicator Web Access) Server for the BlackBerry client to use after upgrading to OCS R2. Trying to install an OCS R1 CWA after upgrading to R2 will not work. You must leave an OCS R1 CWA server intact before upgrading. My understanding is that OCS R2 Active Directory changes will not make it possible to install an OCS R1 CWA after the fact.

The official workaround is described in more detail here: BlackBerry Enterprise Instant Messaging is not functional with Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2.

The Microsoft description of the situation and the workaround is available in KB Article 969336: “How to set up a Communicator Web Access 2007 server in a Communications Server 2007 R2 topology to support UC AJAX applications”.

The issue is that the BlackBerry client uses the Web API used for R1 Communicator Web Access (the Asynchronous JavaScript® and XML (AJAX) API) and Microsoft no longer supports this API in the OCS R2 version of CWA.  There are no current plans at this time to re-release or support this API in future releases.

(BlackBerry® is a registered trademark of Research in Motion Limited).

November 17, 2010 Update:  Microsoft announced at the Lync Launch event that a Lync client for the [...]]]> December 9, 2011 Update: The server-side bits for the new Lync mobility functionality are available. See Lync 2010 Mobility Service and Documentation Available. The Lync clients for the iPhone, iPad, Android, and Windows Mobile 7 will be released shortly.

November 17, 2010 Update:  Microsoft announced at the Lync Launch event that a Lync client for the iPhone will be available within the next year.

With mobile device usage (including phones) becoming the de-facto communication device, extending the reach of Office Communications Server 2007 to information users on their mobile devices is powerful.

Below I summarize the available options for many popular devices.

Blackberry

If you are running a Blackberry Device with software v4.1 or higher, and BES Server v4.1 with Service Pack 6 or higher, a BlackBerry Client for use with Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 is available here: http://na.blackberry.com/eng/services/server/exchange/ocs2007.jsp.

I have been told that the older Blackberry client (for LCS) still works against OCS 2007.

Also, for a good write-up on how to install and configure your BES server to support OCS on your Blackberry read this Joachim Farla’s blog post.

Microsoft Windows Mobile or Java Enabled Phone

In addition to the specific information below, Microsoft has recently (May 2009) made available an easy-to-remember website to dowload the appropriate version of Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile for a Pocket PC, SmartPhone, or Java Enabled Phone: http://getcomo.com.

Pocket PC or SmartPhone Running Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 or 6.0

A version of Communicator Mobile running against an OCS 2007 server can be found here.

A version of Communicator Mobile running against an OCS 2007 R2 server can be found here.

Java Based Phones (Nokia S40/S60 series and Motorola RAZR v3 Devices)

Microsoft makes a version of Office Communicator Mobile R2 available that is optimized for Java. There are different versions available depending on your phone (listed below). OCS 2007 R2 must be running on the backend.

a) Office Communicator Mobile 2007 R2 for Java (Nokia S60 320X240 resolution)

- Supported Phone Models: E51, E66, N95;   Supported Telecom Network: Vodafone and Orange networks in Europe, Airtel and Vodafone networks in India.

b) Office Communicator Mobile 2007 R2 for Java (Nokia S60 240X320 resolution)

- Supported Phone Models: E51, E66, N95;  Supported Telecom Network: Vodafone and Orange networks in Europe, Airtel and Vodafone networks in India.

c) Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile 2007 R2 for Java (Nokia S40)

- Supported Telecom Networks: Vodafone and Orange networks in Europe, Airtel and Vodafone networks in India;   Supported Phone Models: Nokia S40 – 5th edition phones including: 3120 Classic, 3600 Slide, 5220 XpressMusic , 5310 XpressMusic , 5610 XpressMusic, 6212 Classic, 6300i, 6301, 6500 Classic, 6500 Slide, 6600 Fold, 6600 Slide, 7210 Super Nova, 7310 Super Nova, 7510 Super Nova, 7610 Super Nova, 7900 Prism and 8800 Arte

d) Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile 2007 R2 for Java (Motorola Razr V3xx – U.S.)

- Supported Telecom Network: AT&T (US);  Supported Phone Models: Motorola RAZR V3xx

Additional Information about the Java Client

Microsoft Office Communicator for Java Frequently Asked Questions

Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile for Java Getting Started Guide

Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile for Java Testing and Troubleshooting Guide

Other Devices

For all other devices with decent Internet access and a browser, if the OCS 2007 deployment you are connecting to has deployed Communicator Web Access, you can try using the Communicator Web Client. Ask your IT services department for the Web Address (URL) and give it a try.  I would be interested in hearing feedback from anyone who have tried this on an Apple iPhone.