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Cisco Unleashes Device-Agnostic Unified Communications

Cisco is upping the unified communications stakes with the launch of Cisco Jabber, which will bring presence, instant messaging, voice and video, voice messaging, desktop sharing and conferencing to the device of your choice.

While Mac users will have to wait until the summer, Jabber is available today or in development for Windows, iPhone, iPad, Nokia, Android and BlackBerry platforms. The application also integrates with Cisco video endpoints including Unified IP Phones, WebEx MeetingCenter and TelePresence connections.

Prior to acquiring Jabber in late 2008, Cisco had been working with the real-time messaging company to integrate its Unified MeetingPlace conferencing product with Jabber Extensible Communications Platform (Jabber XCP). This week's announcement means users can collaborate from any workspace and any device, says Cisco. It's not just about the PC anymore, Cisco adds.

Based on the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) for presence and IM, Jabber enables users to interact with others regardless of whether they're using applications from Google, IBM, Microsoft or AOL. In addition, the integration with Microsoft Office enables users to see a colleague's availability status and escalate communications to an instant message, phone call or conference from within the application, says Cisco.

In addition to the Jabber announcement, the company also unveiled two unified communications solutions for small and midsized businesses. The Cisco Unified Communications 300 Series for two to 24 users includes data and wireless support, along with features such as voicemail and automated attendant.

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