I wanted to clarify this post a bit. Today Microsoft offers Web conferencing as a service, but soon Microsoft will release a server version of its Office Live Meeting offering that will be offered in addition to the service. It will be a server/service continuum, depending on the size and the needs of the customer. I spoke with Taylor Collyer, director of marketing for Microsoft’s Real-Time Collaboration Group, at N+I in Las Vegas yesterday. Collyer would not commit to a specific timeframe for the offering, but he did say they are working on it now. My earlier assumption that end of year was possible seems to be pretty far off the mark, according to feedback from Microsoft. So now I’m just going to say it is anyone’s guess. Microsoft is good about letting the press know what they are working on even if it is farther away than Pluto (Longhorn, for example), and I’m thankful for that. So the server version of Live Meeting could be years out. But analysts have expected this, so it is not a big surprise. Microsoft jumped into the Web conferencing space last year when it purchased PlaceWare, and rolled out is re-branded Office Live Meeting service last September. “Customers have said they want an on premise server for doing Web conferencing. That is consistent with our vision for this space,” Collyer said.The server will build off the same Real Time Communications platform, leveraging presence capabilities from the Microsoft Live Communications Server. And the product will be managed the same way as other Windows servers, Collyer said. We also talked a little about the next release of Live Meeting (not clear if this will coincide with the server offering). That version will improve ease of use by bringing in more Office metaphors, he said. By this he means the look, feel, and functionality of Live Meeting will more closely resemble Office. For instance, the ability to highlight text and perform an action on it such as making it bold or italic, and the drop down menu concept will be carried over. Also naming conventions will be aligned, so a function that PlaceWare formerly called Desktop Frame will be called Application Sharing to more closely resemble Office lingo. “Leveraging the familiarity people have with Office will lead to productivity gains and improvements in usability,” he said. Technology Industry