Here is a great post that explains the many components to the new Microsoft Lync Server.
http://www.lyncforum.com/news/Newsletter-12-17-2010.htm?goback=.gde_3047679_member_37947341
Lync Forum is an independent forum on Microsoft Communications, Unified & Contextual-Communications.
http://www.lyncforum.com/news/sharepoint/sharepoint-uc-chart.jpg
Microsoft Lync Partner Showcase:
http://lync.microsoft.com/en-us/launch/Pages/partner-showcase.aspx
Useful Links:
With this concise summary I'm confident you can have informed discussions with local Microsoft licensing resellers. Please make use of the fantastic resources available via links below. If considering Microsoft-hosted or Partner-hosted deployment models please refer to the licensing guide in the first instance.
Nexthop, the Microsoft Lync Server team's customer response channel