But this isn't necessary. IM is free from a number of online companies such as Yahoo Inc., which offers free e-mail and free IM to individuals, companies and government agencies. The Web service performs all the work and if your office has Internet access, all that's required is that you configure individual accounts for each user. There are concerns about privacy and security but, with hackers getting into government networks every day, this isn't a realistic concern for most daily communications. Nobody really cares to spy on most office communications, even if they have the technical skill to somehow do this.
Anonymity is a powerful security feature by itself.
Of course, none of this applies to confidential or secret communications, but there is secure IM software available for those users. Free IM services deserve a serious look from government agencies, whether you'll use it as a stopgap measure until you can get in-house IM installed or as a pilot to show management how useful IM can be. A Web-based IM service also could be useful for contacting vendors, even if you already have a full enterprise IM service installed. Given the current lack of standards in IM, it will be easier to communicate with vendors if you share a Web-based service with them. Although AOL isn't used in most offices, it has 23 million members, so its standards battle is important.