Instant Messaging Client Brick

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Description

The Instant Messaging (IM) Client is the user’s desktop-resident software that enables users to send short, text-based messages or files to other users. IM also provides presence management to show who is online and any optional status messages posted by users. These applications allow a user to start a chat session, record the chat interchange, and invite participants to a chat room.

Note that this brick applies to standalone IM services and that this function is often available in other applications, such as Desktop Web Conferencing and Shared Virtual Workspace.

Brick Information
Tactical (0-2 years)	Strategic (2-5 years)
AOL Instant Messenger Client Apple iChat Jabber/Jive Client Microsoft MSN Messenger Client Yahoo! Instant Messenger Client	Microsoft Office Communicator
Retirement (To be eliminated)	Containment (No new development)
	GAIM Google Talk Client IBM Lotus Sametime Connect Client Nextalk 4.0 Trillian
Baseline (Today)	Emerging (To track)
AOL Instant Messenger Client Apple iChat GAIM Google Talk Client IBM Lotus Sametime Connect Client Jabber/Jive Client Microsoft MSN Messenger Client Nextalk 4.0 Trillian Yahoo! Instant Messenger Client	Google Talk Client future versions IBM Workplace Collaboration Service IM Client

Comments

Users must implement the client software that matches the IM service they wish to use. For example:
- AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) client talks to the AIM Server
- Apple iChat client allows Macintosh users to talk to an AIM Server or a Jabber server
- Microsoft Office Communicator client talks to the Microsoft Live Communications Server
- Jabber is the best-known example of an XMPP-based IM service. Jive is an open source IM client that talks to the Jabber server.
There are two IM protocols: SIP/SIMPLE and XMPP. Although both protocols are allowed and will continue to exist in the NIH environment, SIP/SIMPLE is expected to take precedence over XMPP in the marketplace in the long-term.
Note that Tactical choices include only those protocols that are supported by the NIH IM gateway, and therefore do not include clients that are “reverse engineered”.