Sharepoint has this great feature of messenger icons displayed next to a users name. This feature enables users to view the online status, email, telephone number and availability from MS Exchange.
Cool Feature, but...
The online status of a user is derived if a user is logged on to messenger. Using MSN messenger, people appear online when a they are in the user's contact list. However, Sharepoint checks the status from the email address of people in the contact list. Most people use a hotmail address for MSN messenger, which is different from a user's company email address. This results in an offline status, even if the user is online.
Sharepoint gets the email addresses from the Active Directory. MS Exchange normally uses these email addresses, so contacts in outlook are always up to date with the active driectory. Outlook 2003 has a feature to fill in a users instant messenger address, and guess what? Sharepoint can use this address from messenger features!
Ok, I can see online status now, but I don't want to fill in all 3000 users msn email addressed in my outlook contact list! Ofcourse you don't. What you want is that Sharepoint automatically detects if one of my Sharepoint users is online. Many complaints I have heard about this problem.
So what is the solution?
The solution is Live Communication Server (LCS). LCS provides a Active Directory based messenger network. This means it controls the online status, chats, net meetings, and other messenger features within a network. When installing live communication server, 2 changes are made to the AD, which adds a 'LCS' tab to a users property screen.
When a user is enabled, install WINDOWS messenger (instead of MSN Messenger). Windows messenger can be used for both MSN en Windows messenger contacts. Users log on using their corporate email address, so online status in Sharepoint is a fact!
Why isn't it integrated with Sharepoint yet?
I don't know, but it is an essential tool voor online collobaration, just like Sharepoint. It was probably a release issue, maybe we have to wait for Sharepoint 2005?
