Instant messaging is anything but instant success for manufacturers

It finds that 72% of UK businesses have banned IM software, such as MSN, AIM and Yahoo!, because of security concerns. More than half (56%) of IT directors worry that employees might download software without the department’s knowledge and use it to send confidential information outside the business. And fully 88% are concerned about general security risks. However, 74% of those surveyed also said they think IM could provide valuable collaboration benefits to their organisation. And interestingly, only 12% of those surveyed said their company kept an audit trail of IM messages sent by employees. “Considering the increasing number of regulations which specify that all communication, including instant messages, needs to be kept, this means that 88% of UK businesses are potentially at risk of not complying, and will have no way of confirming if confidential information was sent outside the business using public IM,” says Mickaël Rémond, CEO of ProcessOne. “It is a shame that more businesses in the UK aren’t taking advantage of the benefits that IM can bring,” he adds. “Many are torn between wanting to maximise security or gain collaboration and productivity benefits – and clearly maintaining security is winning at this point. However, businesses need to ask themselves whether taking such a knee-jerk reaction as completely banning the use of IM, is really the best option for the company.” And he continues: “Clearly, everyone recognises the benefits that IM can bring. However, the challenge will be for businesses to look for strategies that enable them to reap the rewards without putting themselves at risk of a security breach. While corporate IM tools are changing and becoming more user friendly, the best solution is to find a way to allow employees to use whichever solution they are most comfortable with, while providing a way for businesses to enforce their IT policies.”