Bantu is IPv6, XMPP compliant

Bantu, a provider of secure enterprise instant messaging to federal agencies, announced today that it is compliant with IPv6 and Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP).

Bantu’s support for these next-generation protocols, combined with extensive search and locating capabilities, will enable more than 3.5 million military personnel to communicate and collaborate in real time, the company said in a statement.

The Internet Engineering Task Force designed IPv6 to replace IPv4. The Office of Management and Budget has mandated that federal agencies adopt the next-generation protocol by 2008. IPv6 significantly increases IP address space, improves network administration and includes standardized security features.

As an early IPv6 adopter, Bantu said its customers will be able to use its enhanced services as soon as agencies configure their networks for it.

XMPP is the task force’s formalization of the Extensible Markup Language streaming protocols for instant messaging. Within the government, for example, there are numerous workgroups that use XMPP-based tools for instant messaging, Bantu said.

“The federal government and commercial markets are pushing hard to deploy IPv6 as a key component to the next generation of Internet communication,” Larry Schlang, chief executive officer of Bantu, said in the statement. “Bantu’s support of these two protocols demonstrates our commitment to emerging standards and enabling our military, government and commercial customers to communicate seamlessly within and across organizations.”