Broadband Developments

What it means is that Cisco Systems is serious about collaboration and Microsoft and IBM had better take notice.

Jabber will integrate into the collaboration software group.   Consider their purchase of Postpath, a messaging platform designed as a replacement for Microsoft’s Exchange.  Cisco’s collaboration offering has now added secure instant messaging.

Along with their strengths in voice conferencing, WebEx web conferencing, telepresence, and the most recent addition of enterprise email solution, Cisco has put together a package with enormous potential and value.  Given the right execution, integration, and presence, Cisco is putting together what is probably the market-leading offering.  Also let’s not overlook the value of a one-stop enterprise solution.

Another interesting point is the very nature of Jabber thickens the plot.  Jabber is built with the objective of scalability, it’s that nature that allows it to connect across all the major instant message services such as AOL, Yahoo, ICQ, Windows Live, etc.  Could that compatibility be built in to hardware devices that Cisco builds?  You bet.  Meaning devices, services can message instantly on a whole bunch of information.  And control much information as well.  Absolutely that’s part of where they will go with this.  Also look for integration to WebEx conferencing.  Jabber’s scalability features will certainly help in the move to the cloud.  Once again it all comes down to integration.

And Cisco isn’t done shopping yet, if Cisco analysts are to believed, they have other targets to fill up their bets on their buzzword focus namely, video, collaboration, and virtualization.   Meanwhile Ebay is sitting on Skype, another hot property that fits into the Unified Communications puzzle.

Cisco is fleshing out their strategy, in compelling fashion.  Now, it’s up to Cisco to deliver on integration, security and reliability.  Will corporations sign on?  Yeah I think so.  And the whole paradigm has just moved over to Cisco.  Who’s next?
The day of Unified Communications is nigh.

Skype is one great product. It transformed the web and now it has the possibility to be a lot more. What that is ? Time will tell. Skype has a big opportunity in front of it.

Josh Silverman the CEO of Skype foreshadows some of what his going on with Skype now and in the future. Click here to read what Om Malik has to say and view his interview with Josh.

Here (below) is the video interview from Om Malik.

Google has made some interesting moves lately that point to a move into the unified communications arena. Today Google named Patrick Pichette CFO. Pichette’s experience at BCE in Canada could be a boon for Google as it explands its offering and possibly peers with service providers for a UC offering. Picture this, a merge of GTalk, GMail and the power of the Google Apps and Gadgets APIs with the installed base and technology of Skype.

Skype has underperformed since being purchased by ebay. I can’t say I’m surprised. That acquisition always puzzled me from a business integration perspective. Ebay could offload Skype to Google which would make ebay’s shareholders happy. Google would likely pick up Skype for a song and it could provide a lot of value as the core to an “all-google” unified communications offering. It’s another area where Google could compete with Microsoft coming from the grassroots users upward and challenging in the enterprise applications arena.