Built on Vayusphere's Instant Response Server (IRiS), InstantResponse for Remedy lets Remedy and field technicians to communicate and collaborate in real time, using secure instant messages that connect Remedy to technicians' instant messaging (IM)-enabled desktop, PDA, phone or pager.

Remedy Help Desk is a widely deployed help desk and field service applications, with over 9,100 customers worldwide. The software includes four integrated capabilities that help manage functions critical to the organizations infrastructure -- incident management, problem resolution, asset inventory and change tasking.

Vayusphere InstantResponse for Remedy also enables field technicians to interact with Remedy and other enterprise applications, remotely and in real time, using simple keystrokes on their IM-enabled desktop or mobile device. The solution intelligently finds and routes a real-time notification to the distributed IT support person for field technician when a Remedy ticket is assigned to them or to their Remedy Help Desk group. It also sends an IT support manager a real-time notification when a Remedy ticket is escalated.

IT support staff, meantime, can create a ticket and assign it to one or more technicians, accept or decline a ticket, list all open tickets or a subset of tickets or add notes to a ticket, among other things.

Vayusphere InstantResponse for Remedy is available immediately. Promotional pricing starts at $50,000. Pricing for the Vayusphere Instant Response Server (IRiS 2.0) starts at $50,000. Additional response agents for other leading trouble ticketing and field service applications are also available.

Vayusphere InstantResponse for Remedy can be used with popular IM platforms such as MS Exchange IM, IBM Lotus Sametime, AOL Instant Messenger, Microsoft .NET Messenger and Yahoo Messenger.

The product also can be deployed alongside Vayusphere's IM platforms. The company's free IM Standard Edition can run behind firewalls, and runs on popular desktop and mobile computing platforms including Microsoft Windows desktops, Java-enabled web browsers, Palm OS devices and WAP-enabled cell phones. The program is secure, as it supports 64- or 128-bit encryption between the IM server and IM clients. Besides internal authentication, Vayusphere IM Standard Edition integrates with popular enterprise directory services, such as LDAP and Microsoft Active Directory, for secure user authentication and authorization.

Vayusphere's full IRiS platform adds a lot of functionality to basic IM. Among the features in IRiS are a presence, availability and location (PAL) server, a response agent server and enterprise application integration. With those aspects, IRiS lets workers simultaneously collaborate with enterprise applications and co-workers in a remote and real-time basis, and enables enterprise applications to automatically and intelligently find and notify distributed workers of business problems that require instant response.

While Vayusphere IM Standard Edition is free, IRiS pricing starts at $50,000. The free IM product comes with a one-year license for up to 200 employees, as well as limited free e-mail and Web based tech support until Sept. 1, 2002.

Vayusphere's IM Enterprise Edition, meantime, provides unrestricted user licenses, more features than the IM Standard Edition, application-programming interfaces (APIs), annual technical support and support for additional mobile devices such as PocketPC and RIM/Blackberry. The IM Enterprise Edition can be purchased as part of IRiS 2.0. Pricing details for Vayusphere's IM Enterprise Edition was not immediately available.

Bob Woods is the managing editor of InstantMessagingPlanet.