resource center
  See your link here
|
Subscribe to Computerworld Computerworld -
The ability to communicate instantaneously through IM is a boon to some businesses, but experts contend that the technology's "killer app" lies in its integration with enterprise applications and business processes. By extending the presence-awareness feature found in IM client buddy lists to portals and corporate directories, companies can realize true business-context communications.
"In IM communications, presence [in business applications] is where it's at, without a doubt," says Robert Mahowald, an analyst at market research firm IDC. He points to Microsoft's Live Communication Server and Office 2003. Applications in the company's suite are presence-aware, so users can initiate conferencing sessions to collaborate on documents. Enterprise IM vendors and others have released tools to let developers IM-enable applications.
"With its presence capabilities, [IM] has the potential to humanize electronic transactions by bringing immediacy and intimacy to the process," says Wilson D'Souza, a vice president at Merrill Lynch. Not only can businesses leverage IM indicators within applications, processes and workflows; they can also tie them into corporate directory profiles to see, for example, if it's better to contact someone's mobile device on a given day, he says.
According to Matt Bushman, an IT analyst at RPU, the utility expects to see significant productivity and collaboration benefits from the presence awareness enabled within its Office 2003 and SharePoint portal. "There's awareness in meeting and document workspaces, so people can meet in a workspace and work collaboratively, rather than just throw a document with read-only status onto the network," he says.
As companies increasingly look to leverage presence within business applications, the call for true interoperability among IM clients will get more deafening, says Michael Osterman, president of Osterman Research Inc. in Black Diamond, Wash.
"It all goes back to interoperability, particularly for businesses extending IM to customers," he says. "They don't want to have to support four different systems just to communicate with clients."
Natural User Interface for Enterprise Applications
Learn how a revolutionary user interface can make a complex enterprise application so intuitive even casual users can jump right in....
Why Now is the Right Time for the Linux Desktop
(Source: Novell) Faced with tighter budgets, enterprises are rethinking their desktop strategies to deliver the same - if not better - services and...
Moving Beyond Monolithic - What's Next for Enterprise Application Architectures?
This white paper reviews the current state of enterprise application architecture and presents a prediction on what might come next....
Novell Opens PR Video
Is the Linux desktop for me? Customers are looking for ways to be more flexible and save money. Using Linux offers a great...
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server Deployment Approach Guide
This document is intended for IT professionals and managers who are considering deploying SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. Novell has had a number of...
Usability Is Everything
Learn what sets Workday's HR and Payroll solutions apart from the competition....
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop Data Sheet
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop is the market's only enterprise-quality Linux desktop ready. It delivers seamless interoperability with existing enterprise systems and dozens of...
The Value of Real SaaS at Workday
Cost savings, speed to value, and innovation brought to the enterprise by Workday's software-as-a-service solutions for HR and Payroll....
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server Data Sheet
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is a highly reliable, interoperable and manageable server operating system built to power mission-critical workloads in physical and virtual...
SaaS at Flextronics, Inc.
Dave Smoley, CIO of Flextronics, discusses the real value of software-as-a-service and why he chose Workday for his HR solution....
Sign up to receive updates on the latest Software resources
CIO
Computerworld
CSO
DEMO
GamePro
Games.net
IDC
IDG
IDG Connect
IDG Knowledge Hub
IDG TechNetwork
IDG Ventures
IDG.net
InfoWorld
ITwhitepapers
ITworld
JavaWorld
LinuxWorld
Macworld
Network World
PC World
The Industry Standard
Copyright © 1994 - 2009 Computerworld Inc. All
rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium
without express written permission ofComputerworld Inc. is prohibited. Computerworld and Computerworld.com and the respective logos are trademarks of International Data Group Inc. |
