Antepo has announced the release of Open Presence Networks (OPN) System 4.0, the company's new platform for enterprise and carrier instant messaging.

Antepo has long been an advocate of interoperability, and OPN is XMPP-based but also has a SIP/SIMPLE gateway to support interconnection with SIP networks, such as IBM Lotus Sametime and Microsoft Live Communication Server platforms.

OPN 4.0 Server operates in UNIX, Windows and LINUX environments on wide variety of hardware platforms, and the company has developed clients for a wide variety of devices, including Windows, Microsoft Pocket PC(TM), Java(TM)-based phones, and other mobile devices.

Antepo OPN 4.0 integrates with a wide variety of authentication and directory models, including corporate authentication and directory systems based on Microsoft Active Directory, Sun, Identity Server, Computer Associates, eTrust Directory and other implementations of LDAP. OPN 4.0 goes beyond that to provide IM management and control services, to enforce policy and regulatory restrictions on IM use.

First Take:

Looks to me that Antepo has serious ambitions for the enterprise IM market, and has developed an offering that meets the enterprise need for interoperable and federated instant messaging, squarely competing with Jabber, Sametime, and Live Communications Server. Antepo's OPN 4.0 looks like it can even be a competitor in the IM management space, with competitors like IMlogic, Facetime, and Akonix.