Sametime 8.5.x includes a new server, Sametime Proxy, which provides a thin client that can be downloaded with a browser. Also known as the Sametime Web client or browser instant messaging (IM) client, the Sametime thin client runs on multiple operating systems — it can even run in the iPhone Web browser — while still meeting all of the enterprise requirements that have made Sametime so popular with some of the largest companies in the world: authentication, authorization, archiving, and encryption. With the recent launch of Sametime 8.5.2 Interim Feature Release 1 (IFR1), native IM mobile clients that communicate with the Sametime Community server via the Sametime Proxy server’s protocols are available for Android and iOS devices.

The Sametime Web client does not require a Java applet or Flash plug-in. So, unlike the previous Sametime Web clients, Java Connect and Sametime Links, it does not require anything to be installed on the client except a browser — no Java Virtual Machine (JVM), no ActiveX control, etc. — and that leads to the client being much better supported across different operating systems, devices, and browsers. For more details on how Sametime Links compares with the new Sametime Web browser, see the sidebar “Sametime Links and the Sametime Web Client — What’s the Difference?”.

I will explain the Sametime Proxy server architecture and provide some examples of how developers can use it to customize Sametime for use in their own applications. But first, let me introduce you to Sametime 8.5.x, the new Web client, and the software development kit (SDK) capabilities that come with the Sametime Proxy server.