WebEx Connect and CUPS IM and Presence on a Windows Phone

Cisco has yet to release a Windows Phone client but there is an alternative open stands XMPP client to at least do Instant Messaging and Presence. I rarely us anything beyond IM & P on my smartphone device even when I had the ability to do so with other UC clients so this fits my needs nicely. This will most likely work with a Cisco Unified Presence deployment as well but I have yet to test that. I have used it with WebEx Connect successfully and it functions just fine although its not the prettiest of clients as you will see below. Its really basic which some people may actually like.

Jabbim will work with any XMPP based service and happens to be one of the few existing XMPP clients available on Windows Phone. To set it up for WebEx Connect your administrator will require that a DNS SRV record is in place so that the service can be located by the client but other than that if WebEx Connect has been enabled for your organization you should be good to go. I have included some screenshots below which show the basics of the client and the setup.

The trickiest pieces is to ensure you have the right server record for the account settings. For WebEx Connect users, use the DNS SRV record in the form of c2s.<your org>.com.webexconnect.com. The other settings are just general user name, domain, password etc. Port for WebEx Connect does not need to be changed.

Like I said earlier its not pretty but it is effective. This shows Cisco’s commitment to open standards and XMPP for both the Connect service and CUPS. Having the option for third party clients without having to require additional plugins is a nice to have.

Update: Thanks to a peer @ Cisco I have since tried a few more apps and settled on IM+. Seems to be a much nicer looking client and I am already using it on my iPad. Only draw back is the free version has Advertising. All the XMPP capable clients can be found here:

http://xmpp.org/xmpp-software/clients/

Gotta love open standards.

VoIPNorm