In an era of increasing regulation, many IT execs panic when they discover that employees are using unsanctioned instant-messaging (IM) tools to communicate with customers, partners, friends, and each other. Their knee-jerk reaction — to shut IM down completely at the network level — is usually ineffective and misses an important point: IM can be a valuable business tool, when controlled appropriately. Smart firms with compelling uses for IM should evaluate two components of an enterprise IM (EIM) solution: an EIM platform and an EIM gateway. Forrester used the hands-on TechRankings™ and Forrester Wave™ methodologies to subject each of the top three products in both categories to a full day of testing.
