On Monday, the IETF's Internet Engineering Steering Group approved the spec titled "XMPP-IM," which builds on the XMPP-Core specification, approved late last month. While XMPP-Core defines XML schemas for real-time communications and presence information, XMPP-IM ties those underlying functions into an IM framework. More specifically, XMPP-IM defines XMPP stanzas used for communicating IMs and presence information.

As a result of the standardization -- which effectively means that development on the protocol is complete -- it's possible that enterprise buyers will look more favorably on investing in XMPP-based IM solutions. It also could mean that the protocol will see greater adoption by developers looking to bake an IM protocol into their applications.

Both XMPP-Core and XMPP-IM were contributed to the IETF by the independent Jabber Software Foundation (JSF) -- the not-for-profit steering body modeled on the IETF and overseeing development of the open-source technology.

Together, the two standards -- both officially known in IETF parlance as Proposed Standards -- provide the basic tools for developers to complete a fully featured XMPP instant messaging solution.

"The IM document ... defines some extensions to the core streaming protocols in order to do some of the functionality that's expected of a basic instant messaging and presence system -- like contact lists, being able to block other users from taking to you, detailed information on how the subscriptions work for presence ... that sort of thing," JSF Executive Director Peter Saint Andre told InstantMessagingPlanet.com last month. "In practical terms ... you need both documents to deploy an IM and presence system that has the kind of functionality that people expect."

He added that one of the major changes in the XMPP-IM spec from the JSF version had been the addition of communication blocking ... which "enables you to block your presence from other users ... and all sorts of things like that, in a quite granular fashion."

The protocols also don't define advanced features, such as group chat or file sharing. Specifications on those are likely to be developed and maintained by the JSF, and are unlikely to find their way into the IETF approval process because they weren't originally considered requirements.

But more importantly, supporters say the two documents, XMPP-Core and XMPP-IM, address the requirements of IM and presence systems as laid out by the earlier Instant Messaging and Presence Protocol (IMPP) IETF Working Group in 2000. Adherence to those requirements was a stated goal of the protocol-specific Working Groups that emerged from the IMPP Working Group when it reached an internal stalemate.

(Another Working Group that emerged from IMPP is the SIMPLE group, focusing on using SIP, or Session Initiation Protocol, as the foundation for an IM system -- SIP for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions. It has yet to submit IM drafts to the IESG for consideration as a Proposed Standard.)

However, the two XMPP specs do not address translation into common definitions created by the IMPP Working Group. Those definitions, dubbed Common Profile for Presence and IM (CPIM), defined semantics and data formats for common IM services, for use in the creation of gateways between IM services.

The XMPP Working Group is also likely within months of receiving approval for a CPIM document. It's also near to approval on a specification for the end-to-end security of data.

Christopher Saunders is managing editor of InstantMessagingPlanet.com.

Interested in better understanding IM protocols and how they can affect your business? Join us at the Instant Messaging Planet Spring Conference and Expo, March 3 and 4 in Boston. Sessions include: "IM Technology Introduction: Transports, Protocols, and Integration into Your Systems" and "What is IM & Why Enterprise Instant Messaging is Just as Important as E-mail."