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 NEWSIM tools expand presence By Cathleen Moore September 27, 2002 1:01 pm PT TYPICALLY REGARDED as a consumer-oriented text chat tool, instant messaging, as well as presence-awareness technology, are making strong inroads into enterprises, emerging as critical collaboration and productivity tools.
The activity comes at a time when around 42 percent of enterprises are using IM for true business applications, and that percentage is expected to rise, according to Osterman Research. "By this time next year, you'll see 65 [percent] to 70 percent of companies using IM for a variety of business applications," said Michael Osterman, president of Osterman Research in Black Diamond, Wash. Enterprise IM is poised to germinate at both the application and platform levels, operating as a stand-alone application and as a set of technologies embedded in operating systems, software, and devices, according to analysts. To that end, IBM Lotus Software is aligning its Sametime and QuickPlace collaboration tools with IBM's WebSphere architecture. Microsoft's plans include the forthcoming Greenwich initiative designed to embed presence awareness and IM at the operating system level. In addition, both vendors are planning to leverage emerging Web services standards in their toolsets to help developers exploit real-time communications and presence-awareness technology in enterprise applications. "What started out as a tactical application is being developed and nurtured by companies like IBM and Microsoft to have both a collaborative and productive benefit as an application, but further being baked into applications through the platform and standards," said Dana Gardner, research director at Aberdeen Group in Boston. The strategic goal is to make real-time collaborative activities seamless to business processes, application activities, and consumers and partners on the supply chain, Gardner said. Next week, IBM Lotus Software will roll out new versions of its Sametime IM software, alongside updates to its QuickPlace team collaboration software and its Notes/Domino messaging and calendaring platform. Following its vision to bring Lotus collaboration offerings closer to the IBM WebSphere platform and under the J2EE wing, the new versions of Sametime and QuickPlace are tied closer together, with Sametime presence-awareness capabilities surfaced throughout QuickPlace. Sametime 3.0 will also include new management and monitoring features, improved buddy list administration and improved file sharing capabilities, according to Lotus officials. Cambridge, Mass.-based IBM Lotus General Manager Al Zollar said the company's vision for Sametime is to break down the concept of a stand-alone IM client to allow collaboration within any application. "The next step is going to make sure that we have more consistent, Java-oriented APIs that allow these things to be built into applications," Zollar said. "Sametime is a great example here, where you can look at any Web-based application, and as long as you have a name and you have a directory, you can Sametime-enable that application to tell the user of that application whether someone is online at that moment or not," he added. Microsoft plans to move away from its Exchange-based IM offering to embed IM and presence-awareness technology in Windows .Net Server next year. Code-named Greenwich, the initiative is designed to build on core presence capabilities to deliver IM, voice, video, and data collaboration throughout the enterprise, according to Microsoft. Not to be counted out, AOL's popular Instant Messenger service is planning to launch into the corporate space by the end of the year. An AOL representative said the company is extending its consumer-oriented AIM platform to develop IM services that meet the needs of business users. Sources close to the company said AOL is planning to add encryption and bolstered IT administration tools to its service. But as these long-term visions take shape in the infrastructure, corporate users are latching on to a variety of already available IM tools that run across corporate networks largely unmanaged. Network sniffing tools from companies such as IM-Age and IMlogic can help address this problem by giving network administrators the ability to sniff out which services are in use and how much network traffic they generate, analysts observed. Companies surprised by the widespread adoption of consumer systems can choose from a bevy of tools designed to add security and auditing controls to consumer IM offerings. Companies in this space include IM-Age, IMlogic, and Endeavors Technology. But depending on a company's security requirements, analysts caution that securing public services may be only a stopgap measure. "It is a stepping stone and a cost-effective way of getting some authentication involved. Then a company can make a decision whether or not they want a full system," Aberdeen's Gardner said. Stand-alone offerings from Lotus, FaceTime, Jabber, WiredRed, and Communicator can ease security concerns, but often prevent users from messaging with users outside the firewall. Industry support is gathering behind standards such as SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) and the related protocol SIMPLE (SIP for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions). IBM leverages SIP in Sametime, while Microsoft has pledged future support for SIMPLE as it matures through the standards process. As the standards process proceeds, one of the remaining roadblocks with IM is the lack of interoperability among competing offerings. An accepted standard will make it easier for developers to invoke presence and real-time sessions in association with applications and business processes, but it does not solve the interoperability problem, Gardner said.
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