Also of note is the work at VoIP powerhouse Skype, which earlier this fall added group chat features to its Windows-based IM software. What makes all these efforts possible is a relatively simple protocol structure and easy-to-assemble building block pieces that make up each IM and chat application.
Easy Support
Perhaps the most welcome advantage for IT personnel is that chat is relatively simple to administer. "Managing chat is much like managing an IM system, and deployment is very easy," said Nick Fera, the CEO of Parlano, who sells a chat application called MindAlign. "You need to establish ethical walls and compliance rules, but otherwise, it fits in real easy from an IT perspective."
More of the IM vendors such as AOL, Microsoft, and Lotus have begun to open their programming interfaces to enable businesses to build presence-aware applications. Lotus' Sametime, for example, is now entirely based on IBM's Eclipse open source software, making it easier for developers to extend its functionality.
Another example is Connectria, a Lotus Sametime partner that has worked on extensions to Sametime that literally map where particular staffers are in the world. "You can quickly look up someone's job position in the company," said Chris Miller, an analyst with the developer. "It cuts down the time to find someone for a particular job or task."
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