| Developer(s) | IBM |
|---|---|
| Stable release | 8.5.2 |
| Operating system | Cross-platform |
| Type | Instant messaging, web conferencing, unified communications |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | ibm.com/sametime |
IBM Sametime is a client–server application and middleware platform that provides real-time, unified communications and collaboration for enterprises. Those capabilities include presence information, enterprise instant messaging, web conferencing, community collaboration, and telephony capabilities and integration. It is sold by the Lotus Software division of IBM.
Because IBM Sametime is middleware, it supports enterprise software and business process integration (Communication Enabled Business Process), either through a IBM Sametime plugin or by surfacing IBM Sametime capabilities through third-party applications. IBM Sametime integrates with a wide variety of software, including Lotus collaboration products, Microsoft Office productivity software, and portal and Web applications.
Contents |
IBM Sametime is a client–server enterprise application that includes the IBM Sametime Connect client for end-users and the IBM Sametime Server for control and administration. IBM Sametime comes in 4 levels of functionality[1]:
IBM Sametime Entry provides basic presence and instant messaging.
IBM Sametime Standard provides additional functionality to IBM Sametime Entry, including:
IBM Sametime Advanced provides additional real-time community collaboration and social networking functionality to IBM Sametime Standard, including:
IBM Sametime Unified Telephony provides additional telephony functionality to IBM Sametime Standard or IBM Sametime Advanced, including:
IBM Sametime Gateway provides server-to-server interoperability between disparate communities with conversion services for different protocols, presence information awareness, and instant messaging. IBM Sametime Gateway connects IBM Sametime instant messaging cooperate communities with external communities, including external IBM Sametime, and public instant messaging communities, such as: AOL, AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Google Talk, and XMPP. IBM Sametime Gateway replaces the Sametime Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Gateway from earlier releases of IBM Sametime.
The IBM Sametime Gateway platform is based on IBM WebSphere Application Server, which provides failover, clustering, and scalability for the IBM Sametime Gateway deployment. The product is shipped with the following connectors: Virtual Places, SIP, and XMPP. More protocol connectors may be added.
Because IBM Sametime is middleware, it supports application and business process integration. When within the context of real-time communications, this is often referred to as Communications Enabled Business Processes. It can do so in two ways:
Some examples of integration between IBM Sametime and applications include:
IBM Sametime Connect, the client component of IBM Sametime, is built on the Eclipse platform, allowing developers familiar with the framework to easily write plug-ins for IBM Sametime. It uses a proprietary protocol named Virtual Places, but also offers support for standard protocols, including Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), SIMPLE, T.120, XMPP, and H.323.
IBM Sametime Connect, the client component of IBM Sametime, is available for Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Apple Mac OS X. Also available are a zero-download web client for Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari; mobile clients are also supported for Apple iPhone, Microsoft Windows Mobile, RIM Blackberry, and Symbian. The IBM Sametime server runs on Microsoft Windows, IBM AIX, i5/OS, Linux and Solaris. Sametime can also be accessed using the free software Pidgin and Kopete clients.
IBM Sametime has been an IBM product since 1998, when the product was the synthesis of technologies IBM acquired from two companies: the first, an American company called Databeam, provided the architecture to host T.120 dataconferencing (for web messaging) and H.323 Multi-Media Conferencing; the second was Ubique, an Israeli company whose software technology provided the "presence awareness" functionality that allows people to detect which of their contacts are online and available for messaging or conferencing.
In 2008, Gartner positioned IBM for the first time as a leader in their Unified Communications Magic Quadrant.[3]
| Release | Date | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 8.0 | 2007-11-19 | |
| 8.5 | 2009-12-22 | |
| 8.5.1 | 2010-08-04 | |
| 8.5.2 | 2011-05-18 |
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||