title: Is Microsoft Lync Server 2010 a good fit for public-facing applications?
body: <p>The release candidate for <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/lync" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Microsoft Lync Server 2010</a> (formerly known as Office Communications Server and/or Speech Server) was just made available for download. From the site:</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>Microsoft Lync Server 2010 now
    delivers complete presence, instant
    messaging, conferencing and enterprise
    voice capabilities through a single,
    easy-to-use interface that is
    consistent across PC, browser, and
    mobile device. Administrators benefit
    from a single, consistent management
    infrastructure, new capabilities to
    increase availability, and
    interoperability with existing
    systems.</p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>In coordination with this release, also available for download is the <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=4493baab-6214-4770-8cf9-69c813e8a9fa" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Microsoft Unified Communications Managed API 3.0 SDK</a> (UCMA 3.0). This is the client-side .NET managed API enabling integration and extension of Lync experiences. </p>
  
  <p>This is all very exciting because I would like to start building rich voice and instant messaging application with tight integration to the Microsoft technology stack and with fewer third-party dependencies (e.g. Voxeo, Nuance, IMified, etc).</p>
  
  <p>However, what I am still unclear on is this: Is Microsoft Lync Server 2010 a good fit for public-facing Web sites and applications? Or is really intended for use primarily within the corporate firewall, for mostly internal applications?</p>
  
  <p>I guess what I need to know is this: <strong>Can Microsoft Lync Server 2010 serve as both an internal <em>and</em> public-facing hosting provider for VoiceXML and IM-based applications, and scale to meet the needs of a large public-facing site with thousands or even millions of users?</strong></p>
  
  <p>Am I totally misunderstanding what Lync can/cannot, and should/should not do?</p>