Presence

Presence has been around since Live Communications Server 2005. Presence provides an additional level of information around contacts in Communications Server-aware applications. At a simple level, Presence tells a Lync Server user that another Lync Server user is online. More specifically, it tells whether they are busy, in a call, away from the desk, or do not wish to be disturbed.

Although it might seem minor, knowing you aren’t going to get in touch with someone if you call can be useful. Actually, it can be useful both ways. Many times, a person won’t bother to call another person if he knows the other person will not answer. Other times, someone might want to intentionally call someone who isn’t available so that they can avoid a lengthy conversation and simply leave a quick message instead. This is a wonderful use of Presence data.

Potential Presence statuses include

• Unknown

• Offline

• Available

• Away

• Busy

• Do Not Disturb

Other applications can also process Presence information. One of the more interesting examples is how a Windows Mobile phone and Microsoft Exchange can interact with Lync Server and Presence. In addition to the Communicator client, Presence information can also be determined by viewing a user’s free/busy data in Exchange. So, while Fred might be logged into Communicator 14, Lync Server might know that based on his calendar, Fred is in a meeting from 4 pm until 5 pm and shows him as Busy in his Presence information.