Just as the Web has revolutionized information distribution and retrieval,
instant messaging is revolutionizing communication. Instant messaging is a
powerful tool that few enterprises or application developers have fully
harnessed. Despite its pervasive use by millions all over the world, few
businesses have yet to exploit it.
Presently instant messaging in the enterprise is hobbled by competing service
providers each with their own proprietary protocol. Most end users are wedded
to one of the major providers, such as AOL, Yahoo, MSN, and ICQ, since
networks of acquaintances create a formidable inertia to new players. If a
business wants to provide services via IM, they have to play with at least
the big three providers to reach customers. Complicating matters, existing IM
clients are not extensible or easily integrated into business processes.
Clients today do no... (more)