No longer just for teens and college students, IM software has become a valuable business tool. It has become an easy, inexpensive and, at many times, indispensable form of communication.

Before you put an IM solution in place at your office, there are several things you need to think about. If your corporate instant messaging is not handled properly, it can become more of a hindrance than a help, so consider the following:

1. Will free Internet message services be cost effective or prove to be an employee time waster?

2. Do you want to use instant messaging over the Internet or would the Intranet be safer?

3. Is it important for you to monitor employee use of Internet message services?

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Look into free instant message services

The easiest way to incorporate using instant messaging solutions in your business is to simply have employees sign up for accounts with one of the many free services available online.

I recommend: Have employees create new, professional screen names instead of using existing ones they may have registered. You don't want an individual to contact a superior using the name hotdog29, for example. Buzzle has some good ideas on its website. Also, if you don't want to limit yourself to one messaging service, you can sign up for Pidgin. It allows you to communicate with users of any number of free services, including Yahoo and AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), using one program.

Look into corporate instant messaging solutions

Some employers like to stay away from the free Internet message providers because they are so easily accessible. Not only does it make it a less than secure place to discuss trade secrets, but employees can chat with Aunt Mildred just as easily as with John Mildred, Director of Marketing.

I recommend: Look into IM services specifically for the business environment. They can either run on your Intranet or be available only to individuals with the credentials needed to log on to the network. Two to start with are WebEx Communications, which is owned by Cisco, and OnLAN Messenger from Corpsoft. Note that for Intranet solutions off-site employees will have to log on to a virtual private network (VPN).

Research software to monitor business instant messaging

The main problem with adding IM solutions to your business model is that employees can get so busy with chatting that it can hurt productivity. It's best to address this issue before you have to.

I recommend: Express to employees that use of IM solutions is a privilege that can be revoked or have them sign contracts agreeing to use the service only for business purposes. If this doesn't work, you can use message monitoring software and address any problem employees directly. Try the Busted! package by PC Sentinel Software or IMAuditor by FaceTime Communications.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  After you've begun using instant messaging solutions for business, it's important to gauge its effectiveness. If you don't find that it saves money or time, it may not be a good long term solution.

Once considered a novel way to stay in touch with friends and family, instant messaging — commonly known as IM — has infiltrated the workplace. IM's immediacy and ability to extract real-time information from co-workers, suppliers and even customers has made it a useful communication tool for some small businesses. Many employers even encourage their employees to use IM instead of phone calls or emails because it can:

1. Eliminate or reduce the need for time-consuming meetings.
2. Boost productivity by allowing co-workers to remain at their workstations rather than walking across the office to share information.
3. Allow businesses to connect with vendors and clients for brief communications in real-time.
4. Connect traveling co-workers through mobile devices.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Choose a single IM service

Most IM services aren't compatible with competing providers. Select a single provider and insist that everyone in your organization use that service.

I recommend: Small businesses may take advantage of free instant messaging services from AIM, Yahoo! Messenger, Excite Private Messenger, Google Talk and MSN Messenger.

Go beyond the basics

While general IM services might be adequate for some small businesses, others may benefit from expanded services, such as security features, text conferencing, pop-up messaging and integration with popular email programs.

I recommend: JabberNow provides expanded services such as text conferencing among work groups. IMiN offers added security while allowing users to communicate with others within their network. E/pop basic features pop-up messaging to groups and limits who can be seen online for added protection. AIM Pro offers business customers integration with Microsoft Outlook while using AIM or AOL usernames.

Create a usage policy

Do you want your employees to limit the use of IM to interoffice communications? Or should they also send IMs to customers, suppliers and business partners? Map out the appropriate uses for IM to safeguard sensitive information and to prevent the overuse or abuse of IM. Make sure your employees are aware of your usage policy.

I recommend: The ePolicyInstitute.com sells a customizable Forms Kit to help you create your usage policy.

Secure your information

Make sure your information is protected from outside hackers, viruses and spyware as well as from internal misuse.

I recommend: If you suspect employees are using unauthorized IM software or misusing it for personal purposes, consider monitoring all real-time communications with Facetime's RTMonitor tool. Install antivirus and anti-spyware software, such as Symantec's Norton AntiVirus and Spyware Remover. For out-of-network instant messaging, consider installing VeriSign Digital ID's to encrypt your instant messages and ensure they reach the right recipient.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Make sure your usage policy lets employees know if and how information will be monitored and what the consequences will be for abuse of the service.
• •  Your usage policy should include instructions on how mobile devices are to be used for IM. Fore example, you should set limits on using a mobile device to IM in situations that would cause danger, such as driving a car.
• •  For added convenience to your customers, consider offering them the ability to IM on your customer service representatives to check on order status or to answer questions.
• •  Encourage employees to use passwords to protect their accounts and to log off of their IM account when they leave their desks.

You may think all IM software should be completely banned from your office since it encourages employees to chat with friends instead of doing their work. But , if you're unfamiliar with IM systems, you may not be aware of how your company can benefit from allowing employees to communicate with each other using IM.

Corporate instant messaging can keep employees at their desks and working since they won't actively seek out others to get their questions answered. It can also allow them to quickly, and inexpensively, share ideas with coworkers at different office locations as well as with independent contractors and clients. Three ways to make instant messaging effective for your business are:

1. Choosing the proper instant message solutions for your company;

2. Securing your system so it cannot be accessed by unauthorized users;

3. Implementing a usage policy to deter employees from abusing the instant messaging system.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Research the instant messaging for business options available

There are, of course, the free IM solutions, such as AOL Instant Messenger and Yahoo Messenger, which can provide instant messaging solutions for beginners. However, if you plan to implement instant messaging for the long term, it's best to go with a private service.

I recommend: B-Labs, which developed and sells the Bopup Communication Server, provides a great overview of what IM software can do and how it should be used. Then go to Vital Sound Laboratory's site. It will give you an idea of the software packages you can purchase in electronics stores and even has a free trial of LAN Messenger to give you a better feel of how they work.

Find out about security software to keep your Internet message service private

Once you have your enterprise instant messaging installed, you need to make sure your IMs are safe from prying eyes. The easiest way to do this is to purchase a security package that will work with your instant messaging program.

I recommend: Read the IDG Network's article on the security risks of instant messenger for a good overview as to why you need this system in place. Then check out Symantec's description of IM Manager, a popular instant messaging security software product. It will give you an idea of the standard features you will want to have.

Write a corporate policy to govern instant messaging software use

Unfortunately, even if employees can only chat with each other, there is opportunity for abuse of your Internet message service. A policy that requires it to be for business talk only can help your employees stay on task instead of chatting about last night's football game.

I recommend: Read Microsoft Small Business Center's guidelines for instant message use and adopt some of them into your policy. Then check out Information Today's article on the same subject to help you further streamline the rules. Have all employees sign a written list of rules before you install the instant messenger software.