Analysts say business instant messaging is still in its infancy, but it's a vital tool for communication, much like pagers, cell phones and voice mail. IBM and Sun-Netscape executives said they've heard of executives negotiating contracts and company acquisitions through instant messaging. It represents one of the strongest opportunities to apply technology in a way that makes companies more competitive. About one-third of the site's interactions between consumers and experts takes place via instant messaging, company representatives said. You get to see that the other person is there.
Businesses have a variety of instant messaging software to choose from.
Corporations that want instant messaging for their employees can simply use the free software created by AOL, Microsoft's MSN, Tribal Voice and other Net messaging firms. But with more businesses using the technology, firms such as Lotus, Novell and the Sun-Netscape Alliance are building their own instant messaging software with security features or the ability to tie into companies' corporate networks. John Patrick, IBM's vice president of Internet technology, said businesses are demanding more security, so software companies are encrypting the messages that go over the public Internet. Both Lotus and Novell offer wireless text messaging and have licensed AOL's Instant Messenger protocol, so users of the software can communicate with AOL's customers. That way, company executives can send instant messages alerting every company employee about a mandatory meeting or other news, said John Gailey, Novell's vice president of Internet services, whose company released its instant messaging software last week.