VIM (Vendor Independent Messaging) was a standard
API
An application programming interface (API) is a connection between computers or between computer programs. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how to build ...
for applications to integrate with
e-mail
Electronic mail (usually shortened to email; alternatively hyphenated e-mail) is a method of transmitting and receiving Digital media, digital messages using electronics, electronic devices over a computer network. It was conceived in the ...
on
Windows 3.x, proposed by Lotus,
Borland
Borland Software Corporation was a computing technology company founded in 1983 by Niels Jensen, Ole Henriksen, Mogens Glad, and Philippe Kahn. Its main business was developing and selling software development and software deployment products. B ...
,
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
&
Novell
Novell, Inc. () was an American software and services company headquartered in Provo, Utah, that existed from 1980 until 2014. Its most significant product was the multi-platform network operating system known as NetWare. Novell technolog ...
in the early 1990s. Its main competitor was Microsoft's
MAPI
Messaging Application Programming Interface (MAPI) is an Application programming interface, API for Microsoft Windows which allows programs to become email-aware. While MAPI is designed to be independent of the protocol, it is usually used to com ...
, which was the eventual winner of the MAPI v. VIM war. Ultimately, the choice of VIM or MAPI did not make a huge difference: bridges meant that an MAPI client could access a VIM provider and vice versa,
and the rise of Internet e-mail in the mid-1990s rendered the
panoply
A panoply is a complete suit of armor. The word represents the Ancient Greek ('), where the word (') means "all", and (') means "arms". Thus, ''panoply'' refers to the full armor of a hoplite or heavily-armed soldier, i.e. the shield, breast ...
of