TalkTalk Business chooses KEMP for Microsoft Lync load balancing

TalkTalk Business has chosen KEMP Technologies as its exclusive load balancing partner for Microsoft Lync deployments. Microsoft-approved KEMP LoadMaster appliances will now be supplied with all TalkTalk Business Lync systems to ensure high-performance and availability of integrated voice and data services IM, video, web conferencing and collaboration.

By adding hardware load balancing, traffic can be shared across Lync servers and will automatically re-route and reconnect users to other functioning servers, if a server becomes slow or inaccessible. This will guarantee application uptime and optimise user experience.

“There is increasing interest in Microsoft Lync solutions and we see hardware load balancing as a key component for enterprise-scale deployments to ensure the highest levels of performance and resilience,” said Paul Rodgerson, Lync product manager at TalkTalk Business, which holds the Microsoft Communications competency for deploying Microsoft Lync. “KEMP was an obvious partner for us, as its hardware and virtual appliances are Microsoft approved for use with Lync, offering excellent price and performance.”

Microsoft Lync is ideal for organisations that want to update their existing hardware-based PBX systems, and consolidate multiple communication methods into one easy-to-manage application for flexible working practices. It offers a cost-effective solution, especially for businesses that already have a Microsoft-based infrastructure.

KEMP LoadMaster solutions make it easy to speed deployment of critical server roles and protocols offered by Microsoft Lync Server 2010. By adding load balancing, traffic can be scaled across Lync 2010 Front End, Director and Edge server pools.

KEMP’s entire portfolio of LoadMaster products - hardware-based, Virtual LoadMaster (VLM) for Hyper-V™ and Virtual LoadMaster (VLM) for VMware™ - are approved by Microsoft for Lync Server 2010 as well as Microsoft Exchange 2010 and SharePoint.

“We are delighted to be working with TalkTalk Business along with our KEMPCentre reseller System Professional, to deliver the full benefits of Lync to its customers,” said Leigh Bradford, KEMP sales manager for UK and Ireland. “Integrating business-critical voice and data communications services means that performance and availability can’t be compromised and as Lync has to support real-time VOIP traffic, it is vital that any jitter or latency is minimised. That is why hardware load balancing is now recommended by Microsoft as an important element in enterprise Lync deployments.”