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Unified communications can bring a wealth of productivity enhancements if properly deployed and managed. Learn how to overcome the expected and the unexpected challenges of a unified communications deployment in SearchVoIP.com's case studies series. Click here for an extended listing of VoIP case studies.
Unified communications helps enterprises combat bird flu Open source VoIP, unified communications ease company communications VoIP, unified communications weather storm Top marks for Indiana University's messaging upgrade Unified communications, messaging revamp productivity University's messaging system gets green light after red light woes IP communications tools boost productivity, sales Unified communication case studies at your fingertips. Case studies are the next best thing to being there. Learn how others overcame the expected and the unexpected challenges of a UC deployment in our case studies. Instant messaging (IM) -- whether companies view it as a worker productivity booster or a security threat -- is a popular communication application that many workers use, with or without permission, on corporate networks. In a recent report from Burton Group, "Instant Messaging: It's Not Just Idle Chatter," current trends of IM communications in the enterprise are highlighted -- including the necessity of creating policies to govern the use of IM within a company. In addition, according to Burton Group analyst Diana Kelley, enterprises that do not intend to implement instant messaging should still create a policy that outlines the reasons for disallowing the use of IM on the corporate network. Equally important in creating policies regarding IM, companies need to prepare the logistics of enforcing these policies -- whether that means utilizing network analytics tools, archiving, or using IT staff to patrol the network for violations. "It is important to understand what an enterprise wants their specific approach to instant messaging to be and to create a policy that they will employ with IM use -- even if an enterprise chooses not to utilize IM in the workplace," Kelley said. Financial institutions -- early adopters in the field of IM communications -- continue to lead the charge in employing best practices of IM use in the workplace, including enforcement of strong usage policies. Many other early adopters of the technology indicate that presence is a major driver in implementation and continued use of IM. For help desk facilities, CRM centers and many hospitals, IM and presence allow staff to efficiently locate the correct and available person for situations that require an immediate response. Because IM can return an immediate response and illustrate a person's availability, many companies are convinced that it is a business tool that can and does improve worker productivity. In vertical fields such as hospitals, IM allows staff to immediately find an available doctor or nurse whose specialization is suited for a specific emergency rather than wasting valuable time waiting for returned calls or emails to determine whether a doctor is available. Yet deciding whether to use a public or private IM service is an issue that continues to delay deployment in some cases. Issues of security, archiving and management control must be considered when making the choice between enterprise instant messaging (EIM), such as IBM's Sametime, and public IM services, such as AOL Instant Messaging and MSN Messenger. The Burton Group report indicates that security issues are complicated and require enterprises to give consideration to how much control is necessary for the security of their business. "When using a public instant messaging service," Kelley said, "use of security gateways and reflection of conversations between internal users can help to diminish the amount of internal conversations making it onto the external network and into a public IM's server archives, though these measures are not 100% certain." Instant messaging in the corporate environment will continue to expand as the incoming workforce settles in. Many new employees are dependent on the use of IM to finish projects. Also, these workers are often more comfortable using IM instead of email to stay in contact with project members and fellow workers. Many enterprises will have to rethink the use of IM in the workplace as these workers begin to make their mark on the business or industry. Kelley reiterated that enterprises need to be mindful that IM is now in the enterprise and is an important part of the way many employees work -- and that people are using it for more than just making lunch plans. Instant messaging is a valuable business tool for some enterprises. For others, it's a security risk. Either way, a recent Burton Group report suggests that all companies should have an IM usage policy, even if they haven't deployed IM yet. Instant messaging software is, at its core, a communications application that is associated more with personal use than business use. There was a time not so long ago when virtually every company, if not involved in IT or communications, blocked the use of instant messaging on its computers. But despite management's concerns that employee use of IM could lead to lower productivity, companies are now recognizing that trusting their workforce can be beneficial to business.
Employees, on the other hand, now see having IM software on their computer as a right, not a privilege, and as a result may not respect the intended use of the application. The lines often blur between personal and business use of a laptop, and that includes instant messaging. This is what employers are afraid of. Instead of shutting down IM completely and thereby eliminating an extremely effective means of communication, certain IM applications can be configured so that all conversations had via a certain "screen name" are logged in a folder for later viewing. This is also an incentive for employees to keep their IMs professional. Outside hackers are gaining more and more information from our IMs than ever before. Often these hackers plant viruses in your IM application that cause a new message to be sent from your screen name to everyone on your buddy list with some sort of message and a link. I hope it goes without saying that you should never, ever, under any circumstances, click on such a link. But oftentimes, in a rush, we fail to discern the legitimacy of every IM, especially if it is from someone we know and "trust." There are resources available to help you avoid all the headaches. True, you can't stop an employee from having an inappropriate conversation via IM, but you can make everyone aware that the two people involved in a conversation aren't necessarily the only two reading what is said. For outside disturbances, the resources below should help you start to make sense of the intense security measures companies are now putting into their IM and communication applications.
Instant messaging policies reduce risk Instant messaging software can be a great addition to a company's communication strategy, but managers and employees need to be concerned about not only outside attacks, but also their role in maintaining a secure IM environment. VOIP Advice
Does implementing VoIP security affect the QoS? How would one handle it, if it does? Yes, it does. This is a pretty broad question and I think you need...
May 28, 2009
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