Instant messaging software and mobile voice services were made for consumers, yet they are increasingly being used in the enterprise. What options exist for enterprises to offer these services in a way that is secure and manageable? Mobile Instant Messaging (IM) provides the ability to engage in short, text-based, conversations between mobile users. There are three types of mobile instant messaging. The most popular is the Short Message Service (SMS) ¾ aka “text messaging”. Text messaging is a widely successful mobile operator service and message volume continues to grow at a rapid pace (see Figure, Source: Verisign).
The genius of text messaging is its simplicity. There is no file transfer, no chat history, and no enterprise features such as message logging. Unfortunately, employees that use text messaging for business communication circumvent the ability of IT staff to enforce enterprise mobile messaging policies.
Consumer IM services such as AIM, Google Talk, and Yahoo Messenger, are now available for mobile devices (e.g., AIM Mobile). Theses services are more sophisticated than text messaging because they provide capabilities such as file transfer, chat history, and voice/video communication. Consumer IM users typically communicate with other members of the same service. However, services such as Trillian can aggregate multiple consumer IM services together using a single client. As with text messaging, employees that use consumer IM services for business communication circumvent the efforts of IT staff to manage mobile messaging.
Enterprise IM systems such as BlackBerry Messenger, IBM SameTime, and Microsoft Office Communication Server (OCS), add enterprise network management and security features. For example, Research In Motion (RIM) encrypts messages and maintains an audit trail for offline message storage, retrieval, and analysis. Enterprise IM systems can launch voice and video chat sessions and are usually integrated within a broader unified communication product portfolio. Finally, some enterprise IM systems can federate with consumer IM services, enabling employees to communicate with consumer IM users. Table 1 summarizes several of the major differences between text, consumer, and enterprise IM solutions.
As more enterprises hire GEN-Y employees, they will increasingly need to deploy an enterprise IM system. GEN-Y employees rely upon text messaging rather than email as their primary method of communication. These employees will use whatever IM technology is available to them for business communication. If they choose to use a consumer IM service then IT staff will not have visibility into that communication exchange. Enterprises should deploy enterprise mobile IM systems now in order to provide an alternative to consumer IM and text messaging services.
Conclusion
IT staff must find a way to get ahead of the “mobile messaging curve” if they want to influence the use of this technology within the enterprise. They should deploy enterprise mobile IM systems as an alternative to consumer IM and text messaging services, otherwise employees will find a way to circumvent IT to get what they want.
By: Paul DeBeasi
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