Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/16612
Integrating Outlook Data and Services into Your Applications Using the Exchange Web Services Managed API W hile not part of the Lync Server 2010 product, Exchange Server 2010 and the Exchange Web Services Managed API play a key part in Microsoft’s Unified Communications strategy. Users often ask developers to add Microsoft Outlook-style functionality into applications, such as the ability to create a task or appointment, query contacts or send an e-mail message. Prior to the Exchange Web Services Managed API, this wasn’t as trivial to implement as one would have hoped. The Exchange Web Services Managed API is built on top of an SDK called the Exchange Web Services SDK, and enables developers to easily add functionality into applications to interact with data in users’ Outlook mailboxes. For example, a CRM application can programmatically create an appointment in Outlook when the account manager for General Industries records an activity about an upcoming meeting. In addition to providing access to Outlook data such as e-mail, tasks, contacts and appointments, the Exchange Web Services Managed API can also be used to provide access to services available in Outlook. When you schedule a meeting in Outlook and begin adding contacts to the list of people to invite, the calendar in Outlook shows a visual representation of who is available or not during the scheduled time. In this case, Outlook is querying the Free/ Busy service that is part of Exchange Server 2010. The Exchange Web Services Managed API can be used to integrate data from the Free/Busy service into your application to find and schedule the most suitable meeting time for a group of contacts. The Exchange Web Services Managed API is a simple, yet powerful API that is easy to program. Just like adding communications functionality can greatly improve the user experience in an application, providing access to Outlook data and services, where appropriate, can save users time. With access to Outlook data and services, they won’t need to repeat the same tasks in multiple programs. ILTA 8 Infrastructure Technologies ILTA White Paper a USB headset attached to your desktop PC to accept the call, or on your laptop somewhere else in the office — or in the world. You can also choose to forward calls to your mobile phone or ring another number. If you are in the middle of a call, you can transfer the call to another device such as your mobile phone. When you receive a voicemail, you get an e-mail message in Microsoft Outlook, where you can listen to the voicemail or read a transcription of it. You can also schedule Web conferences and conference calls directly from Microsoft Outlook. It’s quite a compelling and integrated communications experience. The Lync product team put a significant amount of effort into making it a true PBX replacement. Important enhancements were made where previous versions fell short. For example, administrative tools are now available to monitor and manage bandwidth utilization and voice quality. Highly available global deployments are easier to manage with new tools developed specifically to support disparate branch offices. Additionally, Lync now meets North American Enhanced 9-1-1 requirements that allow emergency operators to identify the caller’s location.