Cisco will include Jabber instant messaging and presence software at no extra charge with its Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) enterprise IP communications system, the company plans to announce.
The move follows Cisco’s conclusion that IM and presence have become essential collaboration capabilities to enterprise users, and a necessary complement to the voice and video capabilities that CUCM offers.
Customers with version 7.1 and above of CUCM will get Jabber IM client and Jabber-powered Cisco Unified Presence server software, so that they can offer enterprise IM capabilities not only to end users with a Cisco phone, but also to all of their other employees.
The XMPP-based Jabber software brings IM and presence capabilities to Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Cisco and BlackBerry devices, with support for the Android OS coming later this year.
Features include the ability to engage not only in one-to-one chat but also in a group session, and to transfer files. The Jabber software also keeps logs of users’ IM activity, and is integrated with Microsoft Office, offering presence and IM features within the Microsoft applications.
Cisco is also announcing that shipments of its IP phones recently topped 50 million units, up from 30 million two years ago.
