AOL & IBM Connect Instant Messenger Users
AOL and IBM are now working together to connect their instant messaging communities. Under the agreement, IBM Lotus Sametime users will be able to connect with users of the AOL, AIM, ICQ and Apple iChat instant messager services. IBM’s goal is for its Lotus Sametime messaging customers to be able to chat with users from AOL, Yahoo Messenger and Google Talk.
“IBM is committed to bringing business communities together for increased productivity,” said Ken Bisconti, vice president, Workplace, Portal and Collaboration Products, IBM. “Certified federation with AOL’s global instant messaging network will enable our customers to quickly exchange information and share resources with partners, vendors and customers throughout the United States and beyond.”
Sametime users will also be able to exchange presence information by adding AOL Screen Names and ICQ numbers to their Sametime contact lists while inviting others to add Sametime identities to their AIM Buddy List, iChat and ICQ Contact List features. In addition, the agreement provides for access to AOL’s new AIM Clearinghouse service, which will make it easy for Sametime customers to connect to AOL’s network as well as to those of customers, business partners and other enterprise instant messaging (EIM) systems.
Counting its new relationship with IBM, AOL’s instant messaging services will reach more than 75 percent of all enterprise instant messaging users. AOL’s existing federation partners include Microsoft Corporation, Reuters, Inc., Jabber, Inc., Antepo, Inc., Omnipod, Inc., Communicator, Inc., Parlano, Inc., Thomson Financial and Pivot Solution’s IMTrader service.
