What is Lotus Instant Messaging & Web Conferencing
Lotus Instant Messaging & Web Conferencing software (previously named Sametime) is an enterprise level scalable real-time messaging and collaboration platform. Like other Instant Messaging (IM) products out there, it includes "presence awareness" of knowing at a glace, whether a person or other resource is available for collaboration. It includes text, audio, and video-based conversations between multiple persons. In addition to real-time chat, it also includes, meeting / conference capabilities where multiple people can share information, a white board, an application, or a computer screen for a real-time virtual meeting.
Sametime is currently the enterprise-level instant collaboration leader. In addition to IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, and others have similar packages with some or most of the features of Sametime. Sametime can heavily integrate into other collaborative IBM applications, while running 100% as a stand-alone server product not requiring the others. According to IBM, and third party analysts such as IDC, META and Gartner predict that instant messaging/collaboration will saturate the business market as email did over the last 5-7 years. See the IBM Lotus web site for more information: http://www.lotus.com/winningstrategies
What Does That Mean?
In Mindwatering's opinion, Sametime is for email as the cell phone was for pagers. Pagers were one-way nag technology where the sender must assume that the message makes it through and the recipient has read the message. Email, without a return receipt, is a two way version of the same thing. Instant collaboration allows multiple people to be in the same "place" at the same time to work through a problem to a solution. Unlike MSN and AOL Messaging, Sametime chats and meetings are also secure via SSL and actual data encryption over the Intranet and Internet giving companies the ability to securely carry on business the "right" way. Authentication utilizes a Domino Directory or any accessible LDAP Directory.
Without other product add-ons, Sametime serves two business real-time market areas:
1. Business class secure instant messaging
2. Web based conferencing
For large companies, Sametime allows a company to regain a sense of community within the organization, bringing employees and management together for roundtables and periodic "town halls" regardless that the meeting may span continents and oceans. For all companies, Sametime enables better team-based collaboration in a world market, touch customers in a personal way within an impersonal computer screen, and allow companies and their business partners to share and talk about information and strategies in ways before unobtainable.
At the employee staff level, Sametime gives staff increased capabilities to know when peers are available, makes it easy for ad-hoc questions to be answered, and allows finding information to take place in a more efficient manner. Sametime meetings can be recorded for later viewing, which is ideal for marketing and training purposes.
What About Integration with Other IBM Lotus and Third-Party Products
By itself, Sametime is self-sufficient. Its services can also be split onto multiple servers for high-end scalability. It can integrate with any LDAP directory and is e-mail agnostic, meaning it can use Lotus Domino or Exchange to handle email notifications via Sametime. Meanwhile, via Web Services for web portals, and applets or STLinks for web pages, LDAP for directory connections, and API toolkits for custom applications integration, Sametime can be integrated fairly quickly and easily into existing corporate structures.
Other IBM Lotus products come out-of-the-box Sametime ready:
Companies already running IBM Lotus Team Workplace (QuickPlace) or Domino.Doc can basically just turn on Sametime collaborative features. Within Domino.Doc an author who has checked-out a document can now meet with others on the team and together author the next draft or version of that document without each taking turns reviewing or editing the document. With its people awareness, Sametime allows QuickPlace to be taken to a new level of interaction. IBM Websphere Portal can display Domino6 application portlets (windows of content) and present them with Sametime and other application portlets allowing integration and customization between the applications. Third-party JSP and portal servers can also serve Domino6 and Sametime servlets and web services.
What About Cost?
Lotus Instant Messaging & Web Conferencing has no server license cost, when used in an Intranet environment and a per authenticated user licensing cost. If used in an Internet or Extranet application, Sametime has an additional server license cost. Yearly maintenance and support costs are part of a program called "Passport."
Actual prices depend on a number of factors:
First, Sametime's licensing costs depends on the company's size and business type. Nonprofits and governments are giving substantial discounts. In fact, some government entities may find that their parent organization already has a site umbrella license that already includes them. In addition, IBM's Move2Lotus and TradeUp promotions also give good licensing discounts to those moving to or adding Sametime. Also, your costs should also include a ROI study that takes the licensing, installation, application integration, network increases or decreases because of Sametime, and maintenance costs, on one side, and compares them with estimated savings due to travel reduction, long distance phone bill reduction, and employee productivity gains of using the product. Lastly, create a table of soft values such as the community aspect of Sametime.
IBM or just about any IBM partner, including Mindwatering, can assist you in costs of ownership planning, installation, and sales.
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