Microsoft has started integrating Lync and Skype, as expected. Phase 1 doesn't include video support, but Cisco's claims of "monopoly" indicate it's concerned.



From InformationWeek:

Microsoft on Wednesday announced that it has completed the first phase of its Lync-Skype integration, allowing more than five million Lync enterprise users to connect to Skype's base of 300 million accounts.

For now, users are confined to instant messages and audio calls. Additional features, such as video chat, are scheduled to come online later, but even in its incomplete form, Microsoft's growing unified communications platform already has the attention of at least one major competitor -- Cisco, which argued before a European Union court Wednesday that Microsoft's purchase of Skype constitutes a monopoly.

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