This is the final part of a two-part series on Instant Messaging and
Lotus Domino/Notes. The previous article examined IM and Sametime 2.0,
the Lotus real-time collaborative platform. In this part, we will look
at Lotus' initiatives to deliver real-time collaboration to wireless
devices.
Now that business professionals are getting hooked on Instant
Messaging, it's not surprising that they also want to access the IM
capability anywhere, anytime. While not everyone will get their wish
by the holidays, Sametime users can look forward to wireless IM access
in the near future.
In fact, this wish has already come true for Lotus Sametime users in
Europe, who have taken advantage of Lotus Professional Services'
introduction of a WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) solution a few
months ago. In addition, Lotus users who attended LotusSphere in
Orlando earlier this month, got a preview of the Sametime wireless
product, scheduled for release in the U.S. during the first part of
calendar year 2001.
This fall, Lotus announced to its European customers the availability
of Sametime Everyplace Quick Start, a WAP solution available as part
of the Lotus Professional Services Wireless Solutions Portfolio.
Sametime Everyplace lets users search their corporate directories to
determine which users are online, using a wireless device. They can
then send messages to their colleagues on pagers and other wireless
devices that use SMS (Short Messaging Services) technology.
The Sametime API toolset is used to integrate with Domino and Notes.
This allows users who are reading their Notes files to check to see who
is online if they need immediate answers to their questions. Because
the toolset is Java-based, the technology also works in the Microsoft
Exchange environment.
Lotus views Sametime Everyplace Quick Start as a "killer application"
that addresses the needs of an ever-increasing mobile workforce that
requires immediate responses to business problems. Advances in
wireless communication technology enable the company to provide this
capability.
Robert Mahowald, senior research analyst at International Data Corp.,
in Framingham, Mass. says, "The demand has always been there for
better coordination of communication but it is coming to a head
because we are seeing protocols that are up to the demand with WAP,
WCDMA Wideband Code Division Multiple Access and IMODE (Japan's
DoCoMo's proprietary platform). It is more of a reality than a
pipedream, especially with the growth of voice-enabled software, so
you don't need to type in instant messages."
As part of its future U.S. offering, Lotus is also working on
establishing an infrastructure to extend the Sametime client to the
desktop [Currently, because of limitations of the WAP technology, a
chat cannot be initiated from the desktop to the mobile user. Instead,
when European users click on the user's name, they get a dialog box
and the message is routed to the user's phone, using SMS]. As part of
its product strategy in the United States, Lotus is working on support
for a rich client experience, including communication with PalmPilot
wireless devices and network appliances.
"It is extending awareness outside of your immediate enterprise to
include people who are not in the office," says Jim Cavalier, Lotus
product manager for Sametime and Everyplace. "People and business
processes can be more responsive."
Paula Jacobs is a contributing writer and director of The Jacobs Group,
a Mass.-based communications company.
