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ORLANDO, FL
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22 Jan 2007:
At Lotusphere today, IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced that a new version of Lotus Sametime instant messaging and collaboration software -- which begins shipping in early second quarter 2007 -- will include real-time point-to-point video for expanded communication capabilities. This release will also include integration with Microsoft Outlook and Office applications and support for Linux servers and Macintosh clients.
Built on an Eclipse framework, Lotus Sametime is an easily extensible platform, enabling anyone to build and deploy open extensions known as "plug-ins." With the product's new integrated video capability and plug-ins developed by leading telephony and video providers, Lotus Sametime is further validated as a rich and flexible platform for unified communications and collaboration.
This real time video component further extends the flexible collaboration capabilities within the Lotus portfolio, which also includes social software, messaging, email and team collaboration. With a simple Webcam, the new point-to-point video tool will let Lotus Sametime users enhance their instant messaging (IM) discussion or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) conversation in a manner similar to face-to-face interaction. The days of delayed e-mail, miscommunication and a faceless mobile workforce are no longer a factor in conversations where participants are able to see reactions, facial expressions and share thoughts visually.
"IBM's unified communications and collaboration vision is to foster innovation and business agility by making it easier for people to find, reach and collaborate through a unified user experience. Lotus Sametime provides an open, extensible software platform that integrates rich presence, IM, email, unified messaging, Web, voice, video, telephony and business applications across multi-vendor environments," said Bruce Morse, vice president, Lotus Unified Communications Software.
New Sametime 7.5.1 capabilities will include:
- Point-to-Point Video: Allows users to easily expand begin an instant message and escalate to a voice or video conversation with another user.
- Tabbed Chat: Allows users to simplify their desktop and more easily manage multiple conversations by consolidating all active IM sessions into a single Lotus Sametime window.
- Compatibility with Microsoft applications: Out-of-the-box integration that provides businesses with the ability to launch Lotus Sametime capabilities such as instant messaging, voice or video chat and Web conferencing sessions directly inside of Microsoft Office and Microsoft Outlook.
- Linux server support gives businesses the opportunity to implement Sametime with the cost savings and openness of the Linux platform.
- Apple Macintosh client support: Provides the robust Sametime features directly on Mac desktops.
Business Collaboration and Growth
At Lotusphere 2007, IBM will be joined by more than 30 vendors, including the leading telephony, audio and video providers who will be demonstrating solutions that extend the value of Sametime for customers. Attendees at the global event, including 3Com, Alcatel-Lucent, Avaya, Avistar, Cisco, iscoord, ilink, Nortel, Polycom, Premiere Global Services, RADVISION, Research in Motion (RIM), Siemens, TANDBERG, and VoiceRite, will be demonstrating how Sametime can provide the following capabilities:
- Mobile support: Enables users to quickly and easily access their Lotus Sametime deployment regardless of location.
- Click-to-call: This capability allows users to start a phone call by selecting a contact from their Lotus Sametime instant messaging contact list or from an active conversation. The specified phone endpoint, whether it's an office, cell, home phone or soft phone, will then ring, connecting the users.
- Call management: Provides an alert on a user's PC that a call is coming in and allows specific actions, including sending the call to a soft phone, cell phone or redirecting to voice mail or another colleague.
- Aggregated presence: Allows the user to not only see whether a contact's Lotus Sametime presence is set to available, away, in a meeting, or do not disturb, whether or not they're on the phone.
- Soft phones: The integration of a third party soft phone product with Lotus Sametime can allow a user to use their PC as a full-featured telephone, placing and receiving calls, transferring, conferencing, and seeing incoming, outgoing and missed-call logs.
- Video: Integration of video -- whether the capabilities that will ship with Lotus Sametime 7.5.1 or through integration with IBM Business Partners -- will allow users to initiate and participate in video calls from within their Sametime client.
Additional information about IBM's Business Partner Showcase for Sametime can be found at: http://www-306.ibm.com/software/lotus/partnershowcase/sametime/
For more information on IBM's activities at Lotusphere 2007, please access the company's online press kit at: www.ibm.com/press/lotusphere2007.
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