The messaging system is interacting more completely with the other services that you deliver to your subscribers.

by Alex Goldman ISP-Planet Managing Editor [February 10, 2009]

Clevedon, UK-based Gordano has released version 15.02 of its Gordano Messaging Server (GMS). The key development in the new release, says Gordano managing director John Stanners, is extensibility. "It now has the ability to hook into anything that you'd like," he explains.

The system uses gizmos, written in JavaScript, to interact with other applications in what the company calls "mashups". The idea is that any important application, anywhere, can interact with the messaging server.

The company's press release provides examples: an API to enable users to post to twitter (to tweet) from within the messaging system, and an RSS reader.

Throughout, Stanners says that the GMS message tree helps users organize the information they're managing, whether it's e-mails, RSS feeds, or twitter feeds.

But he hopes that this is just the start. The technology allows service providers to write their own gizmos in JavaScript. For example, you could force anyone sending out an e-mail between 10 PM and 6 AM to answer a simple math question to make sure that they're awake.

For ISPs, the ability to connect the help desk, the user's message system, and the ISP's CRM system opens up many possibilities. Anyone working at the help desk could instantly read the history and trouble tickets of a caller.

GMS interacts with an ISP's databases through a standard ODBC connector. Stanners says that he encourages developers to share gizmos but Gordano does not require it. "Obviously, depending on the level of insight the gizmo provides to internal systems, some companies may not wish to [share the gizmos they've developed]," he admits.

The future
The company is adding depth to the features of GMS. Future plans include integration with Microsoft SharePoint in the near future, followed by IP PBX integration. Will you integrate with other collaboration products? "SharePoint is the one we get requests for," says Stanners.

As to IP PBX systems, the plan is to work with other companies' products, not for Gordano to supply its own IP PBX. The message system would integrate with voice mail so that a user could get their e-mail, voice mail, IM, and all other messages at one place.

"The point is to push the gizmo technology and to allow you to extend GMS the way you want to," says Stanners.

Pricing and availability
GMS version 15.02 is available now. Pricing is clearly disclosed on the company's website.

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