Companies slow to adopt IM

Corporations are still hesitant about embracing instant messaging in the workplace, according to a survey conducted by market research firm Osterman Research. Over a third of companies surveyed felt neutral about adding IM capabilities into their networks. Twenty-three percent still block IM communication in their servers.

The study also showed that most employees are using popular consumer services such as AOL Instant Messenger, MSN Messenger and Yahoo Messenger instead of secure corporate software. About 65 percent of companies that have settled with an IM standard chose IBM's Lotus Sametime technology.