IT Research BYTE

Auxiliary Information Extending the Reach of Instant Messaging to Mobile Devices Glossary OfficeAvailable Communications Options for Mobile Server In addition to the inherent benefits of mobile devices (such as portability, access OCS(OCS) Thick - is an Clients enterprise real-time to GPS and camera), extending the reach of Instant Messaging to Smartphones communications server from provides users with ubiquitous access to real-time presence and collaboration. ,The list below providing enumerates the infra- the Mobile IM liberates users from the confines of their workstations. structureavailable Microsoft for enterprise OCS instantclients messaging,for each mobile presence, platform. It also file- This paper will discuss the key enablers for implementing Mobile Instant transfer,includes withthe network voice and protocols video conferencing.and infrastructure Ford required currently to Messaging within Ford, and provide insight on the benefits and complexities that supportssupport each OCS client. 2007 R2, and uses arise for varying levels of client and infrastructure support. Office Communicator as a BlackBerrydesktop client. Analysis RemoteClient: Enterprise Users – inMessenger the context of RequiresOCS, topology: BES, and they CWA are users Key Enablers for Mobile IM within Ford whoNotes: are Ford part currently of the has organization BES to supportthat work all BlackBerry outside users of the Ford currently deploys Communications Server (OCS) to support organization’s firewall. Although a 2 mobileiPhone user can reside within the Instant Messaging for its employees . Users have access to Instant Messaging vicinityClient: iDialog, of an Fuze organization, Messenger the from their workstations through the Microsoft Office Communicator (MOC) client, Requiresnature of: howCWA they connect to the which includes features such as presence, contact search, and alert notifications. InternetNotes: iDialog via their requires Network download Carrier (AT&T,from App Verizon, Store for etc.)$9.99 excludesand it currently has no support for Push In its simplest form, supporting Mobile IM within Ford means providing mobile them from being part of the 3 internalNotifications. network. Fuze Unless can be a mobile devices with access to Ford’s OCS service . This is addressed by supporting the devicedownloaded connects free from the to App the following key elements: organization’sStore, but requires WLAN, creating they a will alwaysFuze account. be connecting to OCS as • - selecting the appropriate to Mobile Clients mobile OCS clients a remote user. For more access Ford’s OCS service informationWindows Mobile on remote users, see [6].Client : Communicator Mobile Requires: Edge Server • Infrastructure - enabling support for key infrastructure elements that Notes: This is the official OCS permit mobile clients to connect to Ford’s OCS Service client from Microsoft for devices A solid understanding of these key enablers will provide Ford IT with insight on Symbian the appropriate level of support for Mobile Instant Messaging. The consequent Client: Communicator Mobile sections will elaborate on these areas and provide guidance on their respective Requires: CWA Server implications. Notes: This is the official OCS client built by Nokia and Microsoft for Symbian devices Mobile Clients

Android The first element to consider in providing IM for Mobile devices is the mobile 4 No supported client so far. 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 Available Options for Mobile infrastructure to support (see next section). Therefore, Ford IT should carefully OCS Thin Clients evaluate each option. Any mobile browser supporting JavaScript, CSS, and AJAX is capable of running OCS through Thick Mobile OCS Clients the Communicator Web Access feature. However, there could be Most mobile platforms have native OCS clients that are provided by the manufacturer usability issues since CWA is or a third-party. Thick clients take advantage of the hardware capabilities of the primarily designed for desktop device, making them feature-rich and relatively easier to use. However, each client browsers. For instance, it is connects to OCS differently, which potentially raises the level of complexity. uncertain how a mobile browser can notify the user of an incoming Thin Mobile OCS Clients message when the phone is in sleep mode. To learn more about CWA, see "Web Access" on the Almost all mobile platforms support modern browsers that function similar to a regular Where to learn More section. 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.

© Copyright Ford Motor Company

IT Research BYTE

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 roles5:

• 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

© Copyright Ford Motor Company

IT Research BYTE

Auxiliary Information Infrastructure Complexity vs. User Experience

A Note on IM and SMS 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 Instant Messaging and SMS are very identical in terms of mobile client (thin or thick) that can provide a functional user experience. In order reach and immediacy. In the to decide which infrastructure and mobile client to support, one should evaluate consumer arena, both the tradeoffs between these two elements. technologies are used interchangeably. Figure 3 illustrates the implications of selecting one type of mobile OCS client The ability to provide Presence is over the other. An ideal option would be something that is easy to implement one of IM’s distinguishing while providing a rich user experience. 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.

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.

© Copyright Ford Motor Company

IT Research BYTE

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.

© Copyright Ford Motor Company

IT Research BYTE

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. 2009

2 Ford Internal Document

3 "Planning For External User Access", Microsoft Technet – OCS Technical Documentation, Microsoft. 2010

4 Nick Jones, William Clark, "Choosing Between the Six Mobile Application Architecture Styles," Gartner Research. 2006

5 Rui Maximo, "Remote Access and Federation Scenarios", Microsoft Office Communications Server R2 Resource Kit, Chapter 7, . 2009

Reviewed by Internal Ford Peer Review

© Copyright Ford Motor Company