Another article by eWeek on the recent developments in the enterprise IM market.
“However, just because Yahoo and AOL are exiting the enterprise instant-messaging business doesn’t mean Microsoft Corp. is packing its bags. In fact, Redmond continues to beat the enterprise IM drum louder than ever with the arrival of Microsoft’s Live Communication Server (LCS).
However, IBM Lotus Instant Messaging (also known by its older name, Sametime), according to Ferris, still has the strongest position in business IM. ‘IBM has been successful [in business IM] and Microsoft slowly getting its act together.’
Mahowald believes that Microsoft’s LCS may be what the market needs to take business IM to the next level. ‘Microsoft is the most interesting because with LCS, IM is part of something larger rather than a one-off application.’ “
IM is no longer a stand-alone communication tool/channel. Things like presence integration (who’s online / how can I best contact someone) are getting more and more attention and users do see the benefits of this integration and no longer see their IM tool just as “interruptive technology”. Microsoft Office System really shows these integrated benefits already and Microsoft is now working hard on LCS 2005 which, among other new features will include strong Federation, to allow this integration to expand more easily beyond the company network.
