Instant messaging services are trying to put their best foot forward to step through the enterprise door, and on Wednesday, America Online Inc. announced it has partnered with Hewlett-Packard Co. to kick-start its own corporate instant messaging technology.
According to the two companies, the partnership will see HP integrate AOL’s Enterprise Instant Messenger (AIM) Services into its global messaging suite, which the companies said will make it easier for companies to maintain a better level of IM control.
The agreement will also enrol HP in AOL’s Enterprise AIM Certified Partner Program where HP will be allowed to build AIM-enabled applications that can take advantage of AOL’s Enterprise AIM Gateway and integrate with HP’s current enterprise solutions. The companies added that these applications will help HP Services customers lower costs and improve the performance of enterprise messaging.
While IM has carried the stigma of being nothing more than a glorified chat technology, companies like AOL, Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. have put forth a strong effort to show the value of the technology to enterprise clients.
Because messaging is an integral piece of the enterprise business, AOL and HP believe that together the two can offer an unmatched portfolio that will meet the business demands of the corporate world.
AOL’s suite of Enterprise AIM Services – including the Enterprise Gateway and Private Domain Service with Authentication – is supported by AOL’s IM network that maintains more than 195 million users and delivers over 1.5 billion instant messages each day.
The agreement is effective immediately and the functionality will be available to businesses worldwide. For details, visit www.hp.com, or www.aol.com.
