Sequoia branches out

Sequoia and Bantu have inked a deal that will integrate Bantu Messenger with Sequoia’s XML-pure portal software product, XPS.

Sequoia reports it selected the Bantu solution because it seamlessly integrates both presence detection and instant messaging into the XPS portal. The also company singles out Bantu Messenger’s user confidentiality, encryption and interoperability with other popular instant messaging systems. Bantu goes on to claim its product is the only thin-client messenger that is easy to implement and customize, multilingual and firewall friendly.

In a press release, Sequoia cites a Forrester Research study that shows instant messaging is gaining momentum as a business collaboration tool: 46% of the Fortune 1,000 will use instant messaging this year, Forrester predicts.