Jabber, the open answer to closed systems
29-47-2004
By: Venet Osmani
In my previous article on Instant Messaging I promised I would talk about Jabber, a system designed to meet personal communication needs, the IM needs of SMEs (Small to Medium Enterprise) as well as large corporations.
As opposed to other IM systems mentioned in last weeks column, Jabber is a free, open source, and well documented IM platform. The Jabber user base is estimated at 10 million and growing [1], which makes it the largest IM user base.
Being free and well documented Jabber is an ideal solution for enterprises seeking to deploy a quick solution to solve the problem of employee-to-employee communication.
Here at the TSSG we have deployed a Jabber server, which handles part of our communication needs. Setting it up took only a few hours, and it requires relatively low maintenance.
Jabber includes features that you would find in other Instant Messaging systems, such as emoticons (those cute little pictures of smiling, winking, grinning or frowning faces), group chat, file transfer, security, etc. with some additional enhancements that other systems do not possess.
Jabber has developed mechanisms to ensure interoperability with closed systems such as MSN, Yahoo, AIM, ICQ.
When the server is installed, there are other optional components that can be installed (which are also free), called transports. Jabber transports act as a gateway between the closed IM systems and the Jabber itself.
For example, if you are using MSN, you will not be able to exchange messages with a friend using Yahoo. However Jabber makes all this possible. With Jabber, it doesn't matter what system, your family, friends or co-workers are using, you will still be able to keep in touch.
Another cool thing about Jabber is that it is available for a diverse set of platforms, such as PCs (running Linux, Windows, etc), Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and even mobile phones, so the connectivity is assured, no matter where you might be.
IM is a great tool for keeping in touch with your peers, be this business or pleasure related and certainly Jabber fulfils this role very well.
To find out more about Jabber please visit www.jabber.org
[1] http://www.jabber.org/
press/2003-09-22.php
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