Microsoft enables calls from Outlook

Microsoft has announced two new applications that will allow users to make phone calls right from Outlook. The new versions of Office Communications Server 2007 and Office Communicator 2007 add voice calling and video conferencing into the mix, offering a one-stop-shop solution to handling communication.

Users looking at an e-mail will be able to see if the sender is available on-line to talk, and can invite other users to an IM chat, call, or video conference.

Bill Gates claims that these changes are “as profound as the shift from typewriters to word processing software”. May be, but it doesn’t sound that big to us.