During August, on the
Windows IT Pro Exchange &
Outlook Web page, we
featured the Instant Poll question, "Do you use IM for business
productivity?" I have to say, I was rather surprised by the results, which
went as follows:
- 29% Yes, it's a regular feature of my workday
- 6% I use it on occasion at work
- 23% No, IM is strictly for personal time
- 42% My company doesn't support IM
First of all, I put myself in that small, "use it on
occasion" category. I like to think of IM as a step in between sending an
email and getting up and walking over to someone's office. If I don't need an
email trail—just need a simple answer to a simple question—IM is the way to go.
Helps avoid a small smidgen of Inbox clutter, as well. But I was a little surprised by
the number of responses for using IM strictly for personal time. I mean, I've
kind of had that impression personally; I just didn't think others would.
But the biggest surprise to me was the number of responses
where the company doesn't support IM. Our poll results aren't
"scientific" and aren't based on a large enough sample to say this is
really what the industry is like. Nonetheless, 42 percent seems a high number
of companies not allowing employees the option of IM in these, our modern times.
So, my question is, for any admins out there, what's preventing
those companies from implementing IM? What sort of headaches or costs does it
add to administration? Are there compliance issues, tracking IM conversations,
etc., that give companies pause? In short, what's up with that?
Let me know what you think.
Brian Winstead
Associate Editor