Presence, IM and Real-Time Communication Trends, 2008-2011

Abstract

This report focuses on demand drivers for instant messaging, presence and real-time communication capabilities. The research conducted for this report, as well as the report itself, are focused on the needs of vendors, investors and others who are interested in participating in this space. The information presented is designed to help vendors and other interested parties make informed decisions about the future opportunities available in this market.

The research was conducted, and this report was written, from an objective viewpoint, not with any predisposition for or against a particular point of view. Because multiple vendors were involved in funding this report, no particular vendor' s viewpoint had an influence on shaping the research focus, although early subscribers to the report were given the opportunity to provide input to the research program conducted specifically for this report.

There are numerous indicators pointing to instant messaging' s maturation within the enterprise. The proportion of respondents indicating that there was a business case for enterprise instant messaging increased since last year. The people deciding on the purchase of enterprise instant messaging are now increasingly IT management, suggesting that enterprise instant messaging systems may be gaining greater acceptance within business and no longer require the sort of executive or line of business sponsorship needed for new applications.

Having said that, the story isn' t about just instant messaging; it' s about the entire unified communications package. Desktop videoconferencing showed the highest growth rate, increasing by 145% since last year and Web conferencing tool growth of 87% exceeded last year' s projected 37% growth, as noted above. Adding video and voice to instant messaging is now more popular than it was last year. The most desired voice features are incoming call alerts and calling rules.

Mobile instant messaging remains the fastest growing segment of the instant messaging market. The spread of smartphones and unlimited data plans will help organizations project communications costs and only encourage the spread of mobile instant messaging. The biggest users for mobile instant messaging continues to be travelling employees and senior technical managers.

The drivers for enterprise instant messaging remain consistent with last year' s research with the exception that there is greater emphasis on increasing infoworker productivity in the event of an email outage. More than one-half of respondents indicated that it was common or very common for them to use instant messaging to support communications and collaboration.

Organizations are more receptive than last year to keeping some form of consumer instant messaging service in use within their organizations. Far more respondents this year indicated that they were willing to compromise on security for consumer client connectivity. Furthermore, more respondents indicated that they will not swap out their employees' consumer-grade instant messaging clients in favor of enterprise-grade clients.