14 DAY TRIAL // Research In Motion (RIM) demonstrated yesterday new levels of integration between the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution and IBM Lotus Sametime and IBM Lotus Domino, unveiling the first seamless, enterprise-grade implementation of wireless voice and instant messaging convergence.
RIM is previewing Lotus Sametime client software for BlackBerry handsets that includes a new menu item called Convert to Call. This new functionality allows users engaged in an instant messaging group chat to instantly convert their text-based discussion into a multi-party conference call, which is initiated and managed through the enterprise PBX or a conference server. Convert to Call works through the BlackBerry Enterprise Server to seamlessly collect the presence information of each user from Lotus Sametime, then invokes the enterprise PBX or conference server to initiate outbound calls to each user, pulling them together into a voice conference. When the conference call ends, the users are automatically returned back to their group chat session exactly where they left off.
Further demonstrating the ongoing integration between Lotus Sametime and the BlackBerry platform, RIM is showcasing a new feature called Click to Map that will allow users to generate maps on a BlackBerry handset within the context of a Lotus Sametime session. The Click to Map feature will launch BlackBerry Maps from within the Sametime client software and generate a map that illustrates a colleague's location based on presence information retrieved from Lotus Sametime.
RIM has developed a set of optimized BlackBerry interface templates with design elements to improve the usability for mobile workers. In addition, RIM provides a WSDL (Web Services Description Language) enabling the mobilization of standard Lotus Domino Discussion databases using the BlackBerry MDS Studio rapid development tool. With BlackBerry MDS Studio, the interface design elements can be visually dragged into position to create an optimal user interface on a BlackBerry handset.