One of the most notable products on display at the VON show last week was an IP-PBX appliance powered by new Microsoft software called Response Point. Designed specifically for small offices, the solution is notable because it incorporates a voice activated auto-attendant, integrates with Microsoft Outlook, and can be operated by average PC users. Support of natural speech allows, for example, an inbound caller to reach anyone in the company directory simply by speaking their name.

The VON floor demo, which was bundled with hardware from Quanta Computer in a solution called Syspine, duly impressed. It allowed me to transfer, park and retrieve calls with natural voice commands amidst a noisy exhibit hall. The solution featured a fanless PC design with eight FXO analog telephone (RJ-11) ports. Mike Yang, a Quanta representative, said the solution would be available for sale in June 2007 but declined to provide any pricing information. According to the Microsoft press release, the Response Point software will also be available in OEM configurations from Uniden and D-Link.

As I blogged about last October, the PBX Appliance space is an exciting new segment of the VoIP industry. Microsoft’s easy-to-use entry promises to move these types of devices further up the adoption curve in a hurry.

Note: This the the second piece of news linking Microsoft to voice-enabled telephony. Earlier this month, Microsoft announced the acquisition of Tell Me Networks, the company that provides speech recognition systems to many Fortune 500 companies, including E-Trade and AT&T’s directory services.
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Related: Dana Blankenhorn