NewsGator Integration With Microsoft Lync Introduces Seamless Blend of Real-time and Asynchronous Communications

ANAHEIM, Calif., Oct. 4, 2011  /PRNewswire/ -- NewsGator today introduced a powerful new dimension to social computing – seamless, intuitive shifting between real-time and asynchronous communication – through integration with Microsoft Lync, Microsoft's unified communication software.

The integration makes NewsGator Social Sites 2010 the first social computing software vendor to enable knowledge workers to conduct fluid bi-directional conversations spanning Lync and their activity streams. This capability makes communication and collaboration more natural, spontaneous and efficient than ever, resulting in significantly improved business performance.

Now, when a user posts any type of event in the Social Sites activity stream (e.g., microblog, question, idea, video, etc.), the receiving parties (e.g., an @ targeted user, a user with a matching hashtag in their Ask Me About field, a community owner or follower) are notified via a Lync IM window, enabling the counterparts to have a real-time IM conversation. The dialogue unfolds not only in their Lync client, but in their activity streams as well, where it is captured and stored for later retrieval.

"Streamlining processes and enhancing user productivity are top objectives for most enterprises. However, traditional siloed implementations of real-time and asynchronous tools have hampered effective collaboration," said Rob Arnold, senior industry analyst, unified communications and collaboration at Frost & Sullivan. "Leading developers like NewsGator are breaking down the silos and empowering users with dynamic access to contextual information and communications tools at the desktop."

Since the introduction of Social Sites 2010 last spring, NewsGator has already led the pack in offering Lync integration for presence and on-the-fly launching of IM, audio, and video sessions. The integration announced today represents yet another level of interoperability with Lync and with the Microsoft SharePoint collaboration platform.

NewsGator also makes it easy for users to upload a recorded Lync video directly into the Social Sites 2010 Video Stream asset library – letting users share virtual meetings and training sessions with colleagues to enhance and promote on-demand social learning and collaboration.

"Synchronous conversations are the key to social business productivity," said Brian Kellner, NewsGator's vice president of products. "Better yet, conversations don't have to be either synchronous or asynchronous. Knowledge workers can choose ultra-efficient hybrid interactions shaped by the project at hand and reap value from the knowledge exchange again and again down the road. With this integration, we're ultimately extending a commitment to Lync integration for continued innovation and improvement of user experience."

See the Lync integration for Social Sites in action at the NewsGator booth (#364) during the Microsoft SharePoint Conference 2011 in Anaheim, CA.

For more information on Social Sites 2010, contact NewsGator.

About NewsGator

As a Microsoft Gold Certified and Depth Managed Partner, NewsGator is helping nearly three million paid users in industries across the globe propel the future of productivity. NewsGator Social Sites delivers robust social technology to the enterprise with proven scalability and security to flagship clients like Accenture, Adidas, Deloitte, Ericsson, General Mills, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Kraft Foods, Merck & Co., Unisys Corporation, and the US Army. No other social software vendor can rival our deep integration with the entire Microsoft stack – reducing your total cost of ownership while increasing adoption, collaboration, and innovation. And for all that, Microsoft honored us as its 2011 US Partner of the Year. We're making SharePoint and Office365 social. Follow us @newsgator!  www.newsgator.com

SOURCE NewsGator