Microsoft Unified Communications can quickly help organizations save costs by reducing operating costs, consolidating infrastructure, and leveraging human capital more effectively. For example, a Unified Communications solution can reduce operating costs for long distance calls, cell phone charges, conferencing service fees, travel costs, and meeting expenses. Organizations can also reduce costs by consolidating communications systems for messaging, voice mail and telephony into an integrated platform based upon the two cornerstone products: Microsoft® Exchange and Microsoft® Office Communications Server 2007 R2.

Organizations are seeing returns on Unified Communications within a single budgeting cycle, often within six months, and have the potential to save $5 million dollars per 1,000 employees:

• Reduce travel expenses 20-40%* by replacing in person meetings with immersive Web, video and audio conferencing with Office Communications Server.
• Lower messaging costs 50%-80% by reducing messaging storage costs and consolidating costly third-party solutions like mobility, archiving, backup and more with Exchange.
• Reduce telephony and audio conferencing charges 20-40%* by lowering long distance charges and audio conferencing minutes with built-in Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and unified conferencing capabilities in Office Communications Server.
• Lower real estate and facility costs 30-40%* by freeing employees from fixed desks or offices, and increasing occupancy density in buildings. With Exchange and Office Communications Server, employees can work from anywhere --- with simply a laptop, a headset and an internet connection -- and stay connected with a full suite of secure communication tools for e-mail, integrated Presence, enterprise instant messaging, VoIP and unified conferencing.
• Reduce the cost of communications systems 40-60%* by eliminating the need for separate legacy voice mail systems, private branch exchange (PBX) phone systems, and separate instant messaging and audio/video/Web conferencing systems by using the built in capabilities of Exchange and Office Communications Server.

To learn more, read our whitepaper or use this simple calculator to understand your potential cost savings when using Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 as the cornerstone of your Unified Communications solution.

(*) Results are based on actual Microsoft customer evidence and a composite case study of a 4,000-person company developed from interviewing 15 companies. Please see the “Total Economic Impact™ of Microsoft Unified Communications” white paper issued by Forrester Research. Visit www.microsoft.com/casestudies to learn more.