Face it, experts say: IM is a fact of life for the workplace. Not only do employees expect it, but used properly, it can provide a lot of value to the business.“IM can mean the difference between a slow-paced email ping-pong type of communication and faster response,” said Mark Levitt, program vice president for collaborative computing and the enterprise workplace at IDC of Framingham, Mass. “With IM, you can see at least within your organization who is on line, who is in the office, and how they prefer to be contacted—by IM, email or phone. And you can reach the people you need to get your work done based on real-time information.”
And companies are getting the message. According to Gartner of Stamford, Conn., all employees with business email accounts will also have business IM accounts by the end of the decade. What’s more, the enterprise instant messaging market is expected to grow at more than 20 percent annually through 2011.
But challenges still remain. On the human resource side of the equation, employees might abuse the use of IM for private use to the detriment of their work.
“Just like the Web, if IM is used more than necessary for non-business purposes, it can be a productivity drain, which may or may not be outweighed by business productivity gains,” Levitt said.
But on the other hand, employers probably made the same arguments about email, and before that, the telephone, he added. In the end, “companies realize that every business tool in moderation is good for business and committing some non-business use is realistic,” he said.
Security also is a potential problem, in the form of viruses and spam that could enter the network. But that’s more of an issue with commercial IM systems, such as those from AOL, Yahoo, Google and MSN, said David Mario Smith, a Gartner analyst. These systems aren’t ideal for business purposes because of their security vulnerabilities, he said.
However, a cottage industry has built up around protecting those services, with products from vendors like Symantec (IMLogic), Iconix and Facetime. If your company uses a public IM system, it’s definitely worth using the extra layer of protection afforded by these systems, Smith said.
The other option is adopting a company-wide IM system, such as those offered by Microsoft (Office Communication Server), IBM (SameTime) and WebEx (AIM Pro).
These IM systems are easy to use and specifically aimed at mid-sized companies. They function behind firewalls and are integrated with email, calendar and other internal systems.
Despite the benefits, however, not all companies are formalizing their IM systems. According to a 2007 study from the Radicati Group, 42% of companies don’t use a company-wide sanctioned IM solution. What’s more, only 17% said they were sure that their organization filters their IM, leaving them open to security issues and other vulnerabilities.
No matter what type of system you have, developing and enforcing a corporate policy is critical, experts say.
“It’s not the tool, but the use of the tool,” Smith said. “On one level it’s about training; just like email, you need guidelines about what’s appropriate to discuss over IM, how much time can be spent on personal matters, etc. It comes down to having a policy.”
Monitoring usage is the other piece of the puzzle. While corporate-wide IM systems have built-in administrative controls that can be set up to monitor usage, consumer-based systems have no such tools. However, by running what some call “hygiene” tools, like WebEx AIM Pro or IBM SameTime, you’ll get those same tools.
“In general, you can use the same types of tools you use for email monitoring and web usage—tools that identify malicious content coming over the IM network,” Levitt said.
To provide even more control, IT managers can use these tools to block certain employee blocks from certain type of IM activity. For example, while IM might be deemed a critical tool for the finance department, it might not be necessary for employees in that department to be able to use IM to reach people outside the organization.
It’s also important to archive IM messages. Not only does this provide a valuable information trail for business purposes, but it sends a strong signal that the company is aware of what employees are doing on IM at all times, Levitt said.
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