Microsoft Exchange Online UM drops third-party PBX support

Short deadline creates migration pressure

Microsoft said the announcement affects a small number of customers. Those customers, however, tend to be larger organizations with a number of SBCs, according to Jeff Guillet, founder of IT consulting firm EXPTA Consulting in Pacifica, Calif.

"Once customers settle on a connectivity solution, they continue to invest and expand upon it," he said in a blog.

With less than a year to transfer services, Brandenburg said the difficulty organizations will face as they migrate will be tied to their unified communications (UC) strategy.

Organizations that are already on a migration path to Skype for Business, but still have third-party PBX and UC platforms in place, will have to accelerate their migration plans, he said.

"The biggest challenge will be for those organizations that have committed to a heterogeneous environment," Brandenburg said. "These organizations will have to seek out third-party solutions that are compatible with Microsoft's API."

A migration could be rife with complications for organizations. Those that have to replace their existing PBXs more rapidly than planned will face accelerated deployment and user training schedules. Customers planning to deploy third-party services to maintain integration with Exchange Online UM could face software and user-facing issues, as IT will have an additional service to maintain and support, Brandenburg said.

"Forcing customers to plan for and deploy all new phone systems, SBC solutions or voicemail solutions in one year is asking a lot, especially for the size of customer they're affecting," Guillet said.

The announcement also casts doubts over whether Microsoft and other UC vendors can be trusted to support hybrid UC environments, Brandenburg said.

Opportunities for partners

Third-party unified messaging vendors, such as AVST, are offering third-party PBX support for Exchange Online UM. It's possible other Microsoft partners, such as SBC vendors, could build specific connections to alleviate the need for organizations to bring in another vendor, he said.

The announcement also creates an opportunity for UC vendors that already maintain interoperability with the Skype for Business desktop client. Brandenburg said there's nothing preventing these providers from "coming to the aid of their customers" by natively supporting Exchange Online UM through Microsoft APIs.