LONDON & DENVER–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Dec. 18, 2003–
Jabber, Inc. and Followap Inc. Complete Server-to-Server Interoperability Tests, Plan Interoperable System Launches in France
“Interoperability and extensibility are increasingly the mantras of wireless operators worldwide”
Followap Inc. and Jabber, Inc., two of the world’s leading vendors of presence-based platforms for building advanced wireless messaging services, today announced that they have successfully completed server-to-server interoperability tests between Jabber, Inc.’s Extensible Communications Platform (XCP) and Followap, Inc.’s iFollow Platform.
“Interoperability and extensibility are increasingly the mantras of wireless operators worldwide,” said Stowe Boyd, industry analyst at the Cutter Consortium. “Protocol religion isn’t nearly as important as knowing that you will be able to easily interoperate when the time comes and that the applications gaining traction now can be extended to create new revenue streams in the future.”
The interoperability tests were conducted on behalf of Followap, Inc.’s and Jabber, Inc.’s operator customers in France. The tests demonstrate that the core functionalities of the presence platforms interoperate well together and enable the two carriers to launch an interoperable service in the French market.
“Interoperability by definition ensures a larger overall user base,” said Tony Bamonti, Acting President for Jabber, Inc. “As a result of Jabber, Inc.’s collaboration with Followap Inc., it will be possible for the majority of France’s mobile subscribers to communicate with each other through richer presence-based media, such as instant messaging, MMS, and dynamic address books. As interoperable advanced services are deployed across global markets, the economic impact for operators grows exponentially.”
To emphasize the operator revenue opportunities enabled by interoperable messaging networks, both companies pointed to the findings of In-Stat/MDR, which notes that there will be 931 million new cellular subscribers over the next 5 years and that by 2007 the total worldwide wireless population will exceed two billion subscribers.
Collaborative efforts by these competing operators and vendors will allow mobile subscribers to use Presence and Messaging services with their mobile phone number (MSISDN), or handle, as their unique digital identifier. Followap, Inc. and Jabber, Inc. reported that through these identifiers, operators will have the ability to spur the viral adoption of new presence-enabled subscriptions and services, even as the individual maintains ultimate control over their own presence, availability, and privacy.
“The commercial success of a service, as we have learned from the success of SMS, is based on its universal interoperability between mobile operators,” said Tal Rayman, Marketing Director at Followap, Inc. “Presence-based services provide a richer experience for mobile subscribers. It is critical that the services offered by competing operators can communicate – even as they differentiate themselves with value-added features. Followap is dedicated to achieving presence interoperability between wireless carriers through this cooperation with Jabber, Inc., whose product is based upon XMPP, as well as by supporting other presence standards such as OMA-IMPS WV SSP and SIP/SIMPLE.”
Jabber XCP is a commercial platform for building enterprise- and operator-class presence-enabled services and instant messaging systems. It is in use by more than 4 million commercially licensed users, representing more than 100 organizations worldwide. Jabber XCP is built on top of the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP), an open protocol based in XML that is widely used as a common denominator between open source and proprietary messaging systems. The protocol is expected to be ratified soon by the IETF as an Internet standard for instant messaging.
The iFollow Presence solution forms the basis for Presence-enabled services, which are in commercial use by tier one carriers across Europe, providing carrier-class services to millions of subscribers.
About Jabber, Inc.
Jabber, Inc. is the developer of the world’s most widely used open platform for extensible instant messaging and presence management applications. Jabber Inc.’s commercial software has been sold and deployed to more than four million users. The Jabber Open Source project now has more than 215,000 servers in operation worldwide. Jabber has been adopted in the telecommunications, enterprise and software development markets by customers that include France Telecom, Hewlett-Packard, EDS, BellSouth, Lehman Brothers, Sony Corporation, CapWIN, Netsize, AT&T, and Juniper Networks. Jabber, Inc.’s investors include France Telecom (NYSE:FTE – News), Intel Capital, Intel’s strategic investing arm, and Webb Interactive Services, Inc. (OTCBB:WEBB – News). Please see www.jabber.com for more information.
About Followap, Inc.
Followap, Inc. is the leading provider of carrier-class Presence solutions. Followap’s mission is to use its industry-leading position to make Presence and Presence-based services a reality for wireless subscribers worldwide, thus opening up new revenue streams for carriers. Followap’s products have been commercially launched by tier-one wireless carriers, serving millions of users, enabling them to enjoy Presence-enabled services. Followap, Inc. delivers systems based on leading industry standards (IMPS, XMPP, SIP/SIMPLE), designed and operated on standard, non-proprietary platforms, allowing carriers to rapidly deploy Presence infrastructure and services in the most cost-effective way. Followap, Inc. also offers complementing products, allowing carriers to provide Textual & Rich Messaging, Voice, Location and Infotainment services over a robust Presence infrastructure. For more information, please see https://followap.com
Contacts
Followap
Rose Zadik, +44-800-1699383
[email protected]
or
Jabber, Inc.
Laura Lear, 303-308-3195 (Director of Marketing)
[email protected]
JID: [email protected]
or
The Usher Group
For Jabber, Inc.
Usher Lieberman, 303-291-0522 x207
email and JID: [email protected]