Microsoft brings Office to business IM

C|Net | at | by Mike

Microsoft on Tuesday added the Office moniker to its upcoming enterprise instant-messaging software in a branding move intended to heighten the product's appeal to potential business buyers. The software giant said the application will now be called Office Real-Time Communications Server 2003. The branding change comes nearly two months after the company said the product would be called Real-Time Communications Server 2003. The software was developed under the code-name Greenwich.

RTC Server will have one principal function when it is released in the summer: convincing businesses about the merits of enterprise instant messaging. Microsoft is trying to sell a secure IM client to companies already using its server software.