AOL's AIM client is compatible with CompuServe, Netscape, IBM's Lotus Notes and Sametime, and RealNetworks.

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One of the first to benefit is expected to be Lotus Sametime, an instant-messaging add-on for firms that already license Lotus Notes and its related networking software.

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For example, at Lotusphere IBM showed an integration with SugarCRM that allowed an end user to create a meeting in Lotus Sametime or to store a document in Lotus Quickr.

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Although IBM employees have access to Sametime Unyte, a program that allows face-to-face video from practically every seat at the company, she says that IBM's remote conversations usually begin with instant messaging and only occasionally escalates into video conferencing.

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Powering this vision is a suite of IBM products such as Lotus Notes for email, contacts, and calendaring, Lotus Connections, the social networking environment, Lotus Quickr, the document repository, and Lotus Sametime for unified communications and real time collaboration such as web conferencing and instant messaging.

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