Presence information is an essential component of the Office 365 Lync offering. When using any Instant Messenger (IM), there are built-in status options that a user can set to broadcast whether they are available for an IM or telephone conversation. Lync 2010 comes with six status options known as Presence information.

Presence information includes:-

• Available: You are online and available to be contacted.
• Busy: You are currently on a call or in a meeting.
• Do Not Disturb: By default, you will only see conversation alerts from Workgroup contacts.
• Be Right Back: You are stepping away from the computer for a few moments.
• Off Work: You are not working and not available for contact.
• Appear Away: Your computer has been idle for a while

Although Lync 2010 Presence displays a user's status, unlike other systems, Presence has a lot of intelligence built in. Here are a few benefits of Presence in Lync 2010.

Automatic Presence Detection Lync 2010 will automatically set your presence based on your Outlook calendar or current activity.

Presence Organisation Lync 2010 will also allow you to group users and colleagues based on their presence information, department and by their relationship to you. This organisation is useful if you need to know information such as...

• Whether anyone is available to help out with a task.
• Whether anyone in the accounts department is available to help with an expense claim.
• Whether anyone is still in the office building.
• Whether anyone in the sales department is available to go for a meeting with you.

Custom Presence Information

In addition to using the presence status that comes with Lync 2010, you can create your own presence information or create a personal note to go with your status information. Customised Presence messages and personal notes are extremely useful in helping people to understand your circumstances and when they may be able to chat with you.

For example:

• Your car has broken down and it is best not to call you
• You are at a conference and it would be best to send you a text message or an email
• You are about to board a plane and can only be reached before or after a certain time
• Your telephone battery is about to die and you would prefer a text message or a different number to be called
• A family member is ill and you have been called out

Presence information is a useful way for mobile users to quickly find out who is available for a conversation, or when they will be available. The Lync software developer kit also shows programmers how to integrate the Lync 2010 IM capability and Presence information into other applications.