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Analysis: Mobile Instant Messaging

Posted by Peter Rysavy on April 27, 2007

Given the huge penetration of mobile phones-- 1 billion sold globally in 2006 alone, according to Strategy Analytics--and the fact that an increasing number of knowledge workers are finding desktop instant messaging indispensable, one might reasonably conclude that mobile IM is poised to be The Next Big Thing in enterprise communications. One would be mistaken, however, according to some pundits: The Radicati Group reports only 2.3 million U.S. enterprise mobile IM accounts in 2006, compared with 62 million using desktop IM. The firm expects just 10 percent of enterprise IM accounts to be mobile by 2010.

We don't buy it. For enterprises, scorning mobile IM means leaving productivity increases on the table. This is a technology too valuable to be left to teenagers--widespread use could make some communications inefficiencies, including voicemail and phone tag, as obsolete as wired telephones. Some carriers have unified communications initiatives in the works as well. And speaking of teenagers, when Forrester Research asked 4,548 students between the ages of 12 and 21 about their No. 1 must-have mobile phone feature, IM was the top choice, nearly twice as popular as mobile e-mail. These are your future employees.

Reasoned Opposition

Are there hurdles to bringing mobile IM into your enterprise? Yes. We spoke with leading IM vendors, including AOL and IBM, and uncovered complications that have inhibited widespread business use. Key vendors and operators are focused on selling to consumers, while enterprises rightly perceive difficulty in securing and managing mobile IM communications. But there are ways to address the security, compliance and management realities enterprises face.