Instant messaging, or IM, the ability to transfer text messages in real time over the Internet or a corporate network, has spread from the consumer arena to the workplace. It now is gaining in importance as a means of communication and collaboration not only within the enterprise, but also with the enterprise's suppliers, customers, outsourcing vendors, and other transaction partners. IM is an important component connecting data, platforms, processes, and people so as to increase productivity and save costs.

A recent survey on how we use IM indicates that more than 50 million Americans use IM and that 21 percent, or 11 million of the IM user segment, use it at work. However, though 76 percent of IT executives use IM on the job, only 37 percent are standardized on an enterprise IM application. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which is a U.S. government corporation, warns in Financial Institution Letter (FIL) 84-2004 that the use of public IM rather than enterprise IM can expose companies to security, privacy, and legal liability risks because of ineffective virus protection, lack of effective authentication tools, and transmission of unencrypted data, among other defects.

An increasing number of international, U.S. federal, and state regulations require the review, archiving, production, and audit of business communication (including instant messaging) under shortened regulatory deadlines. By migrating their workers away from the use of insecure public IM networks to an enterprise IM network where security measures are built in, companies can gain increased return on investment as well as greater flexibility to adapt to this challenging regulatory landscape. In addition, the use of an enterprise IM network can support a company's effort to develop and implement an "effective compliance and ethics program" under stricter rules and amendments passed by Congress in 2004 (see "U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Tighten Requirements for Corporate Compliance Programs" found at http://www.skadden.com/Index.cfm?contentID=51&itemID=943). Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 provides a robust IM solution designed to help companies achieve these goals.