p2p news / p2pnet: Some 15 million people who use IBM’s Sametime also will be able to hook up with others on Yahoo! Messenger, AOL’s AIM and ICQ and the Apple iChat.

This underscores IM’s transformation, "from a program for chatty teenagers into a common business tool," the Associated Press sums it up, going on:

PC Pro makes he same point in a slightly more restained manner.

"Although the perception of IM has changed over the years it is still regarded by many as a tool for casual chatting rather than a serious business tool," it says. "The deals with IBM give IM further credibility."

Says AP, "The big player on the sidelines here is Microsoft Corp., which has its own product, Live Communications Server, that lets business users send and receive messages from the AOL, Yahoo! and MSN systems."

Ironically, "IBM/Lotus was the first to offer AIM integration several years ago, but that pact faded," says CRN Daily News.

"More recently, Microsoft has stolen a march, last year announcing interoperability between its Live Communications Server and AOL, Yahoo and MSN public IM networks. There was no mention of interoperability between Sametime and Microsoft instant messaging."

IBM also announced updated Mac support in the form of Notes 7 For Macintosh and pledged support for new Intel-based Macintosh machines, says CRN.

Meanwhile, IBM and Google are in separate discussions toward linking Sametime with the new Google Talk IM service, states AP.

Also See:
Associated Press – IBM service links to AOL, Yahoo!, January 24, 2006
PC Pro – IBM does IM with Yahoo!, AOL and Google, January 24, 2006
CRN Daily News – IBM Sametime To Talk To AOL, Yahoo, Google IM, January 23, 2004

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