Response Point and Office Communications Server...which does what?

We have received a few questions here and there about the differences and similarities between Response Point and OCS, so I thought I would highlight a couple useful sources of clarification.

The first is a posting on this topic by Eric Swift, on the Microsoft Unified Communications team blog, which provides the best and most comprehensive answer.

The second is Tom Keating's take at TMC.net, which also pretty much nails the distinction in a mere three sentences. Tom's blog generally has a trove of good insights on anything and everything VoIP. I recommend perusing it to anyone who wants to get up to speed on the latest industry developments.