Network management Toolkit

Google embraces open IM standards

Graeme Wearden ZDNet.co.uk

Published: 19 Jan 2006 15:55 GMT

Google is doing its bit to open up the world of instant messaging by making Google Talk interoperable with other IM services that use the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP).

XMPP is an open XML protocol — sometimes referred to as the Jabber protocol — used for the real-time exchange of data between two points on the Internet. It is used by many open source IM applications, including JabberNow and Earthlink.

By enabling server-to-server support for XMPP, Google is allowing its Talk users to communicate with other IM services which also support server-to-server XMPP.

In a statement, Google said it was "delivering on its commitment to user choice and open standards".

Google Talk was launched last year. Originally, it used XMPP only as a client-to-server protocol, which allowed users to connect to the system with a variety of clients, but the community of Google Talkers weren't able to use the application to contact people on other IM networks.

At present, the three largest instant messaging operators — Microsoft, Yahoo and AOL — maintain closed networks and don't support server-to-server XMPP. Discussions have taken place between the three firms about creating more interoperability, but at present users must turn to a consolidation service such as Trillian, Gaim or Adium if they want to combine contacts from multiple IM services.

Google said it is backing efforts to create full, open interoperability, which it called federation.

"Email is an example of a federated network that enables people to communicate with one another, regardless of their email provider. Open interoperability is the first step towards bringing a similar level of openness and user choice to instant messaging and VoIP, and with today's deployment of open server-to-server federation, Google Talk is enabling millions of people worldwide to communicate with each other instantly," said Google.

According to information on Google's Web site, the company is also planning to support SIP — the protocol underpinning VoIP — in the future.

Did you find this article useful?
60 out of 155 people found this useful

Post a comment

Full Talkback thread

2 comments

It is about time that IM gets with the program! Th... Y. Zamyatin
But there are gateways between Jabber and tho... Anonymous

More In Network management

Company/Topic Alerts

Create a new alert from the list below:

Related Jobs

Network Engineer - Aberdeen - Up to 50,000

Extensive experience with session border controllers, NAT/Firewall traversal, gatekeepers and call accounting techniques Excellent technical and ...

Trade Floor Support Analyst - Investment Bank £55k

Bank; Solid understanding of Fix protocol & process flows; Ability to communicate with technology functions of institutional clients in order to ...

Exchange Engineer

To assist in the maintenance and operational performance of Microsoft messaging and collaboration platforms, through a combination of preventative ...

Featured Talkback

Could it be that ISP’s are making this out to be a bigger problem than it actually is? We’re a small country with an internet penetration of less than 60%, for every Youtuber there’s someone who only uses the internet to check their emails, more people surf on their mobile handsets than a few years ago. Surely things should even themselves up.