This year's APC has just concluded and it was one of the best I've experienced in many years. Special thanks to the UC partners who participated with us as exhibitors, speakers, and provided expertise to throughout the event.  Too many things to hightlight here but I wanted share a few snaps so you can see some of the team and our partners who joined us.

Of course as soon as the Partner Conference ends TechEd 2009 begins!  I thought a quick preview of the event might give you a few ideas of things to be sure to see during the next week.  All will be revealed soon....see you at TechEd!

and the person pulling it all together

Not sure where the time has gone but I'm still here and focusing on UC+ (now also the IW Lead for EPG - Enterprise & Depth).  I wanted to catch up on a number topics: TechEd 2009 (hurry if you haven't registered - it's close to selling out), new releases in the Microsoft product space (more below), and a quick update on the UC market in Australia, which continues to go from strength to strength.

First of all, if you haven't already done so - be sure not to delay - TechEd 2009 Australia is almost sold out  and you won't want to miss this one - lots of new products (such as Windows 7), international experts, and as always, the best chance all year to do a deep dive into Microsoft technologies. And to celebrate the launch of Windows 7, on arrival at Tech•Ed eligible delegates will receive a complimentary HP Mini 2140 Notebook PC pre-loaded with Windows 7*.  Register here.  Looking forward to seeing you at TechEd Australia 2009!

In case you haven't seen it, Frost & Sullivan have just released their Australia Unified Communications Market Report 2009 and the Australian UC market is projected to reach $1B by 2012.  According to Frost & Sullivan, "Larger organisations, including government agencies and financial institutions, are talking to system integrators about how UC technologies can be integrated with their existing business applications to increase efficiency."  Here's a summary of the report.  And according to Frost & Sullivan, IP telephony will experience "good growth" going forward - so don't delay, Microsoft VOIP (using OCS R2) is available now and the list of companies already saving money continues to grow. 

As mentioned above, if you want to be amongst the first to try Windows 7 then TechEd is the place to be. But there's more happening with Microsoft UC products including the upcoming release of Exchange 2010 (I can't wait!).  Check out the newest features and learn how Exchange can help you save money by consolidating messaging servers and voice mail, reducing storage costs, and preventing exposure.  Do you get voice mail in your inbox?  With Exchange 2007 you can get this today and it's set to improve even further with Exchange 2010.  Is the productivity in your business as good as it can be?  Businesses lose $650 billion annually in productivity due to unnecessary interruptions including those from e-mail (Basex, 2008). See what's new in Exchange 2010 - it's just around the corner.  Exchange Server 2010 will become available in the second half of 2009...watch this space.  Interested in learning more about Exchange 2010? Hint: Guess which event (find out here) will feature deep technical dives and product insights.

On to Office - Did you know that Microsoft Word turns 25 this year? Word was first released in 1983. PC World has the full story, and some classic screenshots.  Now is a really good time to deploy Office 2007 as you move to Windows 7.   Office 2007 collaboration and Windows 7 security features deliver better Data security, Mobility, and Desktop Management Scenarios (e.g. for Call Centre environments).  Want your organisation to be ready for Office 2010?  Then move to Office 2007 today.  Speaking of Office 2010, it's coming and it is going to have a great UC story as well. Can't say more yet but Microsoft Office 2010 is scheduled to enter technical preview in the third quarter of 2009 and become available in the first half of 2010.  You can learn more about Office and stay ahead with the latest IT news and developments in Australia, as well product releases, expert insights and support services by subscribing to TechNet Flash Australia - Microsoft Australia's complimentary biweekly newsletter for industry professionals.

Finally, FY10 has officially started so there's no better time to roll-out those new UC products.  First step, find a qualified partner to help get you started.  All Microsoft UC partners can help with Exchange planning and deployments and many have additional specialisations such as Voice expertise.  Even if you are still in the planning phase don't forget to include Microsoft Software Assurance - it provides an easy way to upgrade as new products are introduced.  And be sure to check out the 2010 OCS & Exchange websites which feature all of the new 2010 updates - the future of UC is here.  

It's been a busy few weeks for the Microsoft UC team - we've just completed our annual Microsoft Australia Partner Conference and spent a very productive week planning the year ahead.  A big thank you to all of the participating UC partners and special thanks to those who contributed time, presentations, and support toward this event - we're very appreciative of all of your efforts.  Here are a few pics from the Partner Conference - can you spot the MSFT team members?

The coming weeks are just as busy - for those already registered, I'll look forward to catching up with you at TechEd during September 2-5th.  There are some tix still available so be sure to check out the registration page here: http://www.microsoft.com.au/teched/.   If you are a student, be sure not to miss the free student day on Tuesday, September 2nd - we have 2 sessions, 1 for high school students and 1 for uni students ( http://www.microsoft.com.au/teched/pre_days.aspx). 

And for those who really want to focus on UC (like me), we'll deliver more than 20 sessions over 3 days just focused on UC during TechEd - this is one of the largest tracks during this event so there should be something for everyone - overview to technical and lots of great speakers (from around the world).  So why TechEd? It's the best place to see and find out everything about Microsoft UC in one location over a short period of time.  And most importantly you can bring your questions and meet the experts.

One early piece of news  - you may be interested in joining - those attending TechEd will be able to attend the first meeting of the new community UC User Group.  I'll be providing a lot more details going forward but our official launch will be at TechEd so we hope to see you there.

I also want to highlight the ongoing improvements we are making to our UC website: http://www.microsoft.com.au/uc.  Be sure to download the new UC Guide covering all you need to know about getting started with Microsoft UC.  The UC self assessment will tell you what you need to get started with UC, and also check out the latest video case studies including Gibson Guitars to see how UC is being used today.  If you're new to UC or looking for technical insight, this site is designed with you in mind.  Of course if you're looking for a UC expert to help your business you can find Microsoft UC Certified partners too.

And finally, a stat that makes me think a lot about the impact we are having on our planet:

"5 years before the Arctic could become ice-free in summer. Sea-ice last year shrank to 22% below the previous record low level, a low that had not been expected to be reached until 2030-50, opening up the Northwest Passage."

Source: The Millennium Project; World Federation of UN Associations I oS research 2008

If you'd like more info about the Millennium Project you can find them here: http://www.millennium-project.org/

Check back again soon and watch this space for more UC updates & industry discussion - and please help our planet  whenever you can.