Microsoft’s Windows Hardware Developer’s Conference this year is all about Office Communications Server 2007. Jeff Raikes, Microsoft’s business division president has said it’s going to be the “most important communications tool since Outlook.” This year’s WinHEC has will see announcements of a new generation of communications devices that operate over TCP/IP.

Partnered with companies like ASUSTek, LG-Nortel, Pantronics and Samsung Microsoft is working on “unified” communications for the workplace. Upcoming handsets promise to provide mobility and complete connection to the workplace. They’ll be your regular telephone, voice mail, email, instant messenger but unlike the Blackberry these communications will be offered over the VoIP protocol. Communications Server should save companies money as a unified business telephony, communications solution.

Microsoft says they’re only out to provide device specifications for the manufacturers to actually make the hardware. Microsoft’s goal is to have its customer realize what it’s calling the “Just Works” operation paradigm. In other words it should be even more simple than Microsoft’s last operations mantra “plug and play”. “Just Works” will even work for people who don’t want to be bothered with the ‘plug’ part.