External coordination and collaboration must be more agile and provide more privacy and freedom. To that end, Rocket.Chat, the leading open-source communication platform, has announced it is building its new federation capabilities on the Matrix protocol to allow its users to communicate with users on other platforms.

Federation is how the standard email protocol (SMTP) enables users of different email service providers to communicate seamlessly. The Rocket.Chat adoption of Matrix makes it simple for organizations to easily connect with external parties, whether they're using Rocket.Chat or any other Matrix compatible platform. This initiative is another step forward on Rocket.Chat's journey to let every conversation flow without compromise and enable full interoperability with its ecosystem.

It also furthers Rocket.Chat's mission to enable effortless communication and collaboration across platforms, empowering individuals and organizations to connect on their terms and fluently share information. By working with decentralized protocol providers such as Matrix and delivering production-quality Matrix federation, Rocket.Chat eliminates the problem of fragmented communications and concerns of compromised data privacy.

"As the world has become more global and linked, data privacy issues have become more complex," said Gabriel Engel, CEO of Rocket.Chat. "Setting standards for data privacy is more important than ever for businesses to protect sensitive customer and employee information, trade secrets, and intellectual property wherever it is stored or shared. Increasing interoperability in the Rocket ecosystem is a significant factor in driving us to help all types of organizations stay in charge of their data and maintain data sovereignty."

The importance of openness and data control in inter-company collaboration is growing. The European Union's recent Digital Markets Act to limit the market power of large online chat and messaging platforms is evidence of this need.