Instant Messaging Openfire and Spark

Hi!

well, I don't know if it's the right forum, but here it goes

I was planning to develop an Instant Messaging (IM) application, but before this I decided to look for existing open source solutions. I found Openfire (server) and Spark (client).

So, have someone used these softwares? Do you recommend any other IM OSS?
It's just for use in the company where I work. They don't want their employees using MSN, Yahoo IM, etc

Thank you!!!

I've used them before - one thing to mention is that Spark isn't really the "client" - it's a Java implementation of the Jabber/XMPP client protocol - so it's more like the API that you would need to develop a client.

If you want is a full-featured ready-made IM client, you may want to look for an existing open-source IM client that supports the Jabber/XMPP protocol (there are tons out there), run OpenFire as your corporate IM server, and block outside IM servers from your network