Lotus SameTime encrypts instant communications and works behind a firewall. Patrick said that IBM employees send over 1 million instant messages a day to each other. Instant messaging has significantly reduced the amount of email. They don't have to cross their fingers and wonder if or when the person on the other end will answer. IM has also become a critical negotiating tool.
Attorneys use it to pass one another private messages at the bargaining table.
And during phone interviews, employees can remind one another to discuss a certain topic. IBM has begun testing a real-time language translation feature for SameTime. For example, when an English speaker types a message to a French speaker, the message appears in French, and vice-versa. Instant messaging is also being used by doctors and their patients in clinical trials. PHT has developed LogPad , a patient-specific software that runs on handheld devices.