Ubique (company)
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software, Social networking, Instant messaging |
| Founded | 1994 |
| Founder | Ehud Shapiro and researchers from the Weizmann Institute |
| Fate | Acquired by Lotus/IBM in 1998 |
| Headquarters | Israel |
| Products | Virtual Places, instant messaging and presence technologies (evolved into Lotus Sametime) |
| Parent | Lotus/IBM (from 1998) |
Ubique was an Israeli software firm established in 1994, known for its groundbreaking work in social networking and messaging applications. Its premier offering, Virtual Places, was a presence-aware chat system that allowed users to navigate websites together through real-time interaction using avatars. This solution comprised both server-side and client-side components and was utilized by services such as VPChat and Digital Space before evolving into what became Lotus Sametime. Certain legacy user groups continue to operate earlier iterations of Virtual Places.
The innovations developed by Ubique laid the groundwork for sophisticated instant messaging and presence management platforms, ultimately leading to the creation of Lotus Sametime. The company's vision focused on "bringing people onto the web," converting the initially static internet into an interactive environment.
In 1995, America Online (AOL) acquired Ubique to strengthen its interactive communication offerings. After AOL ceased operations of GNN in 1996, Ubique redirected its efforts from consumer markets toward enterprise presence technology and instant messaging solutions. Subsequently, in 1998, Lotus/IBM purchased Ubique to embed its core technologies within Lotus products. By 2006, Ubique’s developments were integrated into IBM Haifa Labs, enhancing real-time collaboration capabilities.
History
Founded in 1994 by Ehud Shapiro along with researchers from the Weizmann Institute, Ubique specialized in real-time distributed computing products such as Virtual Places—an early presence-based chat system featuring instant messaging and presence functionalities. During a period when the internet was predominantly static, Ubique’s goal was to "bring people onto the web."
In 1995, AOL acquired Ubique for $14.5 million to utilize Virtual Places within its consumer offerings and the Global Network Navigator (GNN). However, only the GNN-branded version of Virtual Places was released.
After GNN was discontinued in 1996, Ubique shifted its focus toward enterprise presence technology and instant messaging services. Although AOL divested ownership, it remained a major investor while Ubique searched for a new parent company.
In 1998, Lotus/IBM purchased Ubique to incorporate its instant messaging and presence technologies into Lotus software. By 2000, Lotus Sametime was introduced based on Ubique’s platform.
By 2006, Ubique’s technology had been merged with additional Israeli innovations at IBM Haifa Labs, which focuses on developing Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) infrastructure and real-time collaboration tools including session management, presence awareness, subscription handling, notifications, text messaging capabilities, developer toolkits, and mobile messaging frameworks.
Virtual Places
Virtual Places, Ubique’s flagship product, is a presence-aware chat platform that enables users to collaboratively browse websites. It was adopted by providers such as VPChat and Digital Space before eventually evolving into Lotus Sametime.
The system requires both server and client software; users launch it alongside their web browser, log into the server, and communicate via avatars superimposed on the browsing interface, allowing synchronized interaction on web content.
Some older consumer communities still maintain usage of earlier Virtual Places versions.
Instant Messaging and Chat
Leveraging the foundation of Virtual Places technology, Ubique created a platform for instant messaging and presence awareness, which evolved into Lotus Sametime.