IT Research BYTE. Extending the Reach of Instant Messaging to Mobile Devices. Key Enablers for Mobile IM within Ford

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2 IT Research BYTE Auxiliary Information Glossary Extending the Reach of Instant Messaging to Mobile Devices Office Communications Server Available Options for Mobile OCS (OCS)Thick - is anclients enterprise real-time communications server from The list below enumerates the Microsoft, providing the infraavailable Microsoft OCS instant clients structure for enterprise for each mobilepresence, platform. It also messaging, fileincludes with the network protocols transfer, voice and video and infrastructure to conferencing. Fordrequired currently support each supports OCSclient R2, and uses Office Communicator as a desktop client. BlackBerry Client: Enterprise Messenger Remote Users in the context of Requires: BES, and CWA OCS, topology they are users Notes: Ford BES to who are partcurrently of the has organization support all BlackBerry that work outside users of the In addition to the inherent benefits of mobile devices (such as portability, access to GPS and camera), extending the reach of Instant Messaging to Smartphones provides users with ubiquitous access to real-time presence and collaboration. Mobile IM liberates users from the confines of their workstations. organization s firewall. Although a iphone mobile user can reside within the Client: Messengerthe vicinity idialog, of an Fuze organization, Requires: CWAthey connect to the nature of how Notes: requires download InternetiDialog via their Network Carrier from AppVerizon, Store for etc.) $9.99 excludes and it (AT&T, currently has being no support them from partforofpush the Notifications. FuzeUnless can bea mobile internal network. downloaded free from thetoapp the device connects Store, but requires creating a will organization s WLAN, they Fuze account. always be connecting to OCS as a remote user. For more Windows informationmobile on remote users, see Client: Communicator Mobile [6]. Requires: Edge Server Notes: This is the official OCS client from Microsoft for Windows Mobile devices Symbian Client: Communicator Mobile Requires: CWA Server Notes: This is the official OCS client built by Nokia and Microsoft for Symbian devices Android No supported client so far. Available Options for Mobile OCS Thin Clients Any mobile browser supporting JavaScript, CSS, and AJAX is capable of running OCS through the Communicator Web Access feature. However, there could be usability issues since CWA is primarily designed for desktop browsers. For instance, it is uncertain how a mobile browser can notify the user of an incoming message when the phone is in sleep mode. To learn more about CWA, see "Web Access" on the Where to learn More section. This paper will discuss the key enablers for implementing Mobile Instant Messaging within Ford, and provide insight on the benefits and complexities that arise for varying levels of client and infrastructure support. Analysis Key Enablers for Mobile IM within Ford Ford currently deploys Microsoft Office Communications Server (OCS) to support 2 Instant Messaging for its employees. Users have access to Instant Messaging from their workstations through the Microsoft Office Communicator (MOC) client, which includes features such as presence, contact search, and alert notifications. In its simplest form, supporting Mobile IM within Ford means providing mobile 3 devices with access to Ford s OCS service. This is addressed by supporting the following key elements: Mobile Clients - selecting the appropriate mobile OCS clients to access Ford s OCS service Infrastructure - enabling support for key infrastructure elements that permit mobile clients to connect to Ford s OCS Service A solid understanding of these key enablers will provide Ford IT with insight on the appropriate level of support for Mobile Instant Messaging. The consequent sections will elaborate on these areas and provide guidance on their respective implications. Mobile Clients The first element to consider in providing IM for Mobile devices is the mobile 4 client. Most mobile clients are classified as either thick or thin. It is important to note that the choice of mobile client plays a key role in evaluating the type of infrastructure to support (see next section). Therefore, Ford IT should carefully evaluate each option. Thick Mobile OCS Clients Most mobile platforms have native OCS clients that are provided by the manufacturer or a third-party. Thick clients take advantage of the hardware capabilities of the device, making them feature-rich and relatively easier to use. However, each client connects to OCS differently, which potentially raises the level of complexity. Thin Mobile OCS Clients Almost all mobile platforms support modern browsers that function similar to a regular desktop browser. With this in mind, it is possible to just use a mobile browser for Instant Messaging. By using OCS Corporate Web Access (CWA), mobile users can connect to Ford s IM service without the need to install native clients. This approach will cover a wide reach of devices compared to mobile thick clients, but may be limited in terms of features and usability.

3 Infrastructure Requirements Currently, Ford s OCS implementation does not support IM outside of its firewalls (except for laptop users with VPN). Since mobile devices are technically classified as remote users (see Glossary), they are currently not supported to connect to Ford s OCS Service. To allow mobile devices to access OCS, Ford IT will need to set-up at least one of the following OCS server roles 5 : OCS Edge Server an Edge Server acts as an intermediary between external users and the OCS Service. This allows mobile devices to connect to OCS using native protocols. OCS Communicator Web Access Server (CWA) - provides access to the OCS Service as a web application (via the browser). It also exposes Web Services that are used by third-party applications to connect to OCS. Figure 2 illustrates a possible high-level architecture of how the Edge and CWA Servers fit into the overall OCS infrastructure. To learn more about Edge and CWA Servers, see endnote [5]. Figure 2 A high-level architecture of the infrastructure required to support Mobile IM within Ford, which includes web-browser access through CWA Source: Author; Data acquired from Microsoft Office Communications Server R2 Resource Kit

4 Auxiliary Information A Note on IM and SMS Mobile Instant Messaging and SMS are very identical in terms of reach and immediacy. In the consumer arena, both technologies are used interchangeably. The ability to provide Presence is one of IM s distinguishing features. In IM, presence allows users to check whether someone from their contact list is available or not, which is not found in SMS. However, the strength of SMS lies with its immediacy and reach, given that 98% of mobile devices support SMS. Infrastructure Complexity vs. User Experience As mentioned earlier, Mobile IM will require support for at least one of the OCS server roles for external access (i.e. Edge Server or CWA), as well as selecting a mobile client (thin or thick) that can provide a functional user experience. In order to decide which infrastructure and mobile client to support, one should evaluate the tradeoffs between these two elements. Figure 3 illustrates the implications of selecting one type of mobile OCS client over the other. An ideal option would be something that is easy to implement while providing a rich user experience. Figure 3 Tradeoffs between Infrastructure Complexity and User Experience Source: Author; Data acquired from discussions with vendors and industry analysts. Benefits and Challenges In terms of infrastructure requirements, thin client IM access has an advantage because it only requires setting up OCS Communicator Web Access. Any device that supports a web browser can access mobile IM through CWA. Thick client IM access requires enterprises to setup Edge Servers and manage a separate set of protocols which could increase infrastructure complexity. However, thin clients are constrained by the web browser. Thick clients, on the other hand, can provide a richer user experience because of its ability to access device hardware features such as GPS, camera, and notification alerts. This allows thick clients to do more than what is available on a web browser. However, thick clients can only reach a limited audience because not all mobile devices have OCS clients. By carefully examining these tradeoffs, Ford IT can position itself to wisely decide whether or not to implement Instant Messaging for its mobile users.

5 Recommendations Quantify the Usability of Mobile Web Browsers Since the infrastructure required for thin clients is simpler, it will be a good initial approach. However, it is still unclear how mobile browsers can accommodate the functionalities that are critical to an IM session. For example, it is still unclear how a mobile browser can notify the user about an incoming message, or how it uses presence effectively. Moreover, the unique use-cases of a mobile device and the constraints of a mobile browser might not fit well compared to how a regular desktop user engages with Instant Messaging. Once this gap is known, Ford IT will have enough knowledge to evaluate whether the thin client approach is a beneficial solution. If it turns out to be a steep challenge, then a thick client might be the preferred approach. For a high-level list of features that are available in CWA from a browser, see "Web Based Access" on the Where to Learn More section. Evaluate the Complexity of Implementing Edge and CWA Servers Thick clients are ideal for providing a richer user experience on mobile devices. However, the infrastructure required to support them might be more complex compared to thin clients. By quantifying the complexity of deploying Edge and CWA Servers through a Proof of Concept, Ford IT will have a better understanding of how each server role is deployed (and possibly combined) to efficiently support its mobile users. Bottom Line Mobile Instant Messaging is a step towards providing users with access to enterprise collaboration from anywhere, and anytime. Currently, Ford uses Microsoft Office Communications Server (OCS) to provide its employees with access to IM from their desktops and laptops. However, Ford s current implementation does not support access to IM outside of its network. By selecting the proper mobile clients and enabling certain infrastructure elements within OCS, Ford users can have external access to IM from their mobile devices. By carefully examining the tradeoffs between user-experience and infrastructure complexity, Ford IT can position itself to wisely decide whether or not to implement Instant Messaging for its mobile users.

6 Where to Learn More Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 < OCS Communicator Web Access Microsoft Office Communications Server, 2010 < Web Based Access Microsoft Technet OCS Technical Documentation, 2010 < Perimeter Network Topologies Microsoft Technet OCS Technical Documentation, 2010 < End Notes 1 Bill Pray, "Instant Messaging: The Real Value of Real-time Communication Collaboration and Content Strategies," Burton Group Ford Internal Document 3 "Planning For External User Access", Microsoft Technet OCS Technical Documentation, Microsoft < 4 Nick Jones, William Clark, "Choosing Between the Six Mobile Application Architecture Styles," Gartner Research Rui Maximo, "Remote Access and Federation Scenarios", Microsoft Office Communications Server R2 Resource Kit, Chapter 7, Microsoft Press Reviewed by Internal Ford Peer Review