IETF Approves XMPP Working Group

Jabber-Based Open Instant Messaging and Presence Technology on Internet Standards Track

Denver, CO, USA. November 11, 2002.

The Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG) announced today the approval of an XMPP Working Group within the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), the group that sets the technical standards for the Internet.

The Working Group has been formed to adapt the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) for use as an IETF instant messaging and presence technology.

XMPP is the core protocol used in the popular Jabber open source and Jabber, Inc. commercial instant messaging systems and is the result of the collaborative efforts of a worldwide group of software architects, developers and companies that comprise the Jabber community. Managed and organized by the non-profit Jabber Software Foundation (www.jabber.org), XMPP is an open XML-based protocol for near real-time extensible messaging and presence. It has enjoyed widespread popularity and adoption and is currently deployed on thousands of servers across the Internet and used by millions of people worldwide.

"Progress and work towards a common, open IM standard on any front will benefit the entire emerging IM marketplace," said Jabber founder Jeremie Miller, now a Jabber Software Foundation board member. "Jabber.org has always been a collaborative project driven by those interested in creating open, interoperable IM technologies based on XML. For those protocols to have gained enough popularity and use to warrant a standards effort is a sign that openness and interoperability are still deeply valued attributes on the Internet."

"The XMPP evolved out of a grass roots effort to establish an open, XML-based architecture for the real-time exchange of messaging and presence information. An IETF working group is a logical step towards formalizing a technology that has already been embraced by a large part of the Internet community," said Rob Balgley, CEO and President of Jabber, Inc. "Jabber, Inc. has been a leading proponent of XMPP as the Internet's most open and extensible instant messaging technology. The IETF initiative is a significant validation of the Jabber community's work and innovation."

Interoperability has always been a core objective of the Jabber project. Prominent individuals within the Jabber community have been involved in the IETF standards process for the last three years. The formation of a dedicated working group provides an opportunity to include the broader Internet community in adapting XMPP to IETF established standards for security, internationalization and inter-domain message exchange.

"The approval of an XMPP Working Group is an historic moment for Jabber," says Michael Bauer, Chairman of the Board of the Jabber Software Foundation. "This approval raises Jabber above ad-hoc instant messaging and presence efforts and places it on par with other Internet standards. We anticipate significant growth in the adoption of Jabber as a result."

In a related effort, the Messaging and Presence Interoperability Consortium (MPIC) is considering the XMPP as a key interoperability technology. The MPIC initiative is being driven by a group of carriers and service providers to establish interoperability standards for instant messaging and presence. Frustrated with the lack of workable interoperability standards from instant messaging and presence providers, the group intends to embrace emerging open standards like XMPP and collaborate towards interoperability among their respective systems.

The first XMPP Working Group meeting will be held in Atlanta at the 55th IETF meeting November 17-21. Details on the meeting and the XMPP Working Group charter can be found at www.ietf.org.

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. An independently operated subsidiary of Webb Interactive Services, Inc. with investment from France Telecom Technologies, Jabber, Inc. is a commercial software company that has its roots in the Jabber Open Source project. With over 100,000 servers deployed, Jabber has been adopted in the telecommunications, enterprise and software development markets. Customers include France Telecom, Hewlett-Packard, BellSouth, webMethods, Lehman Brothers, AT&T, Landmark Graphics, and Juniper Networks. Please see www.jabber.com for more information.

About the Jabber Software Foundation

The Jabber Software Foundation (JSF) is a non-profit membership organization that fosters freedom of conversation through the continuing development of an open XML protocol for instant communications and by supporting the growing community of Jabber-based projects and companies. Please see http://www.jabber.org/ for more information.

About Webb Interactive Services, Inc.

Webb Interactive Services, Inc. (OTCBB:WEBB) is the parent company of Jabber, Inc. Please see www.webb.net for more information.

Contact

Jabber, Inc.
Laura Hardin
Tel: +1 303/308-3195
Email: lhardin@jabber.com

Prepared by Robin Cover for The XML Cover Pages archive. See (1) the 2002-11-04 news item "IETF Charters Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) Working Group"; (2) general references in "Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP)."

SEARCH Advanced Search ABOUT Site Map CP RSS Channel Contact Us Sponsoring CP About Our Sponsors NEWS Cover Stories Articles & Papers Press Releases CORE STANDARDS XML SGML Schemas XSL/XSLT/XPath XLink XML Query CSS SVG TECHNOLOGY REPORTS XML Applications General Apps Government Apps Academic Apps EVENTS LIBRARY Introductions FAQs Bibliography Technology and Society Semantics Tech Topics Software Related Standards Historic	IETF Approves XMPP Working Group IETF Approves XMPP Working Group Jabber-Based Open Instant Messaging and Presence Technology on Internet Standards Track Denver, CO, USA. November 11, 2002. The Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG) announced today the approval of an XMPP Working Group within the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), the group that sets the technical standards for the Internet. The Working Group has been formed to adapt the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) for use as an IETF instant messaging and presence technology. XMPP is the core protocol used in the popular Jabber open source and Jabber, Inc. commercial instant messaging systems and is the result of the collaborative efforts of a worldwide group of software architects, developers and companies that comprise the Jabber community. Managed and organized by the non-profit Jabber Software Foundation (www.jabber.org), XMPP is an open XML-based protocol for near real-time extensible messaging and presence. It has enjoyed widespread popularity and adoption and is currently deployed on thousands of servers across the Internet and used by millions of people worldwide. "Progress and work towards a common, open IM standard on any front will benefit the entire emerging IM marketplace," said Jabber founder Jeremie Miller, now a Jabber Software Foundation board member. "Jabber.org has always been a collaborative project driven by those interested in creating open, interoperable IM technologies based on XML. For those protocols to have gained enough popularity and use to warrant a standards effort is a sign that openness and interoperability are still deeply valued attributes on the Internet." "The XMPP evolved out of a grass roots effort to establish an open, XML-based architecture for the real-time exchange of messaging and presence information. An IETF working group is a logical step towards formalizing a technology that has already been embraced by a large part of the Internet community," said Rob Balgley, CEO and President of Jabber, Inc. "Jabber, Inc. has been a leading proponent of XMPP as the Internet's most open and extensible instant messaging technology. The IETF initiative is a significant validation of the Jabber community's work and innovation." Interoperability has always been a core objective of the Jabber project. Prominent individuals within the Jabber community have been involved in the IETF standards process for the last three years. The formation of a dedicated working group provides an opportunity to include the broader Internet community in adapting XMPP to IETF established standards for security, internationalization and inter-domain message exchange. "The approval of an XMPP Working Group is an historic moment for Jabber," says Michael Bauer, Chairman of the Board of the Jabber Software Foundation. "This approval raises Jabber above ad-hoc instant messaging and presence efforts and places it on par with other Internet standards. We anticipate significant growth in the adoption of Jabber as a result." In a related effort, the Messaging and Presence Interoperability Consortium (MPIC) is considering the XMPP as a key interoperability technology. The MPIC initiative is being driven by a group of carriers and service providers to establish interoperability standards for instant messaging and presence. Frustrated with the lack of workable interoperability standards from instant messaging and presence providers, the group intends to embrace emerging open standards like XMPP and collaborate towards interoperability among their respective systems. The first XMPP Working Group meeting will be held in Atlanta at the 55th IETF meeting November 17-21. Details on the meeting and the XMPP Working Group charter can be found at www.ietf.org. 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. An independently operated subsidiary of Webb Interactive Services, Inc. with investment from France Telecom Technologies, Jabber, Inc. is a commercial software company that has its roots in the Jabber Open Source project. With over 100,000 servers deployed, Jabber has been adopted in the telecommunications, enterprise and software development markets. Customers include France Telecom, Hewlett-Packard, BellSouth, webMethods, Lehman Brothers, AT&T, Landmark Graphics, and Juniper Networks. Please see www.jabber.com for more information. About the Jabber Software Foundation The Jabber Software Foundation (JSF) is a non-profit membership organization that fosters freedom of conversation through the continuing development of an open XML protocol for instant communications and by supporting the growing community of Jabber-based projects and companies. Please see http://www.jabber.org/ for more information. About Webb Interactive Services, Inc. Webb Interactive Services, Inc. (OTCBB:WEBB) is the parent company of Jabber, Inc. Please see www.webb.net for more information. Contact Jabber, Inc. Laura Hardin Tel: +1 303/308-3195 Email: lhardin@jabber.com Prepared by Robin Cover for The XML Cover Pages archive. See (1) the 2002-11-04 news item "IETF Charters Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) Working Group"; (2) general references in "Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP)."