Business-class IM offers online conferencing, collaboration and advanced multimedia
AOL has launched a version of its popular AIM Pro messaging service for businesses that provides an array of communications and collaboration tools, which features security and online meeting functions aimed at corporate users. The service, which is free for anyone to use, integrates with Microsoft Outlook’s calendar and corporate directory and offers one-click access to WebEx voice and video conferencing and collaboration services.
In conjunction with online meeting company WebEx Communications, AOL’s AIM Pro is designed to help I.T. departments manage and secure their messaging applications, as well as keep logs of chat sessions to comply with governmental requirements, with an eye on helping workgroups and small-scale organizations connect in real time.
Around 14 million people already use AIM as a daily business tool, AOL said. With AIM Pro Professional Edition (PE) the company hopes they will see its software as a tool not just for secure instant messaging (IM), but also for secure file sharing or for hosting online meetings with voice, video and collaborative working tools.
Although there are already enterprise instant messaging tools on the market, such as IBM Corp.’s Lotus Sametime, most business IM users make do with free tools intended for consumers, AOL said.
Eventually the one-to-one video conferencing will be expanded to allow four-way conferencing, said Brian Curry, vice president of business services at AOL.
AIM Pro gives people the option of using their professional e-mail addresses as their AIM screen names. It also provides business-grade security and SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption and automatic antivirus file scanning.
As an alternative to the often obscure and quirky screen names that identify users of the consumer AIM service, AIM Pro PE users can also identify themselves using their business e-mail address. From within the AIM Pro interface, users can search corporate directories, check their Outlook calendar, send IM or e-mail messages to contacts listed in the directory or calendar, and access business information or enterprise podcasts, the company said.
A tabbed AIM Pro Buddy List features new modules that let users do a quick people search and listen to news-related podcasts from CNN, ABC News and others. Users also have easy access to Wall Street Journal finance, technology and business stories and stock quotes and market data from AOL Finance.
AIM Pro PE users can communicate with over 80 million users of IM services on AOL’s network, including ICQ and Apple Computer Inc.’s iChat, the company said. AOL also has agreements that allow it to exchange traffic with users of Microsoft’s Live Communications Server and IBM’s Lotus Sametime, and other IM services including Jabber Inc., Antepo Inc., and Parlano Inc., it said.
Later, AOL will offer premium packages for a fee that include an IT management console, logging and regulatory compliance features, Curry said.
IM Gains Ground as Business Tool
AOL faces renewed competition in the enterprise services market. Messaging rival Microsoft Corp. lately announced plans to link up with Nortel Networks Ltd. to integrate instant messaging with traditional telecommunications and conferencing services.
The chances are good for AOL to succeed here because its definition of success would not be the same as it is for Microsoft or even Yahoo, IDC analyst Robert Mahowald said in a recent interview. "What AOL wants is wide use of business clients connected to its worldwide user base, and to make money off that."
The application, developed in collaboration with communications software house WebEx, will come in two flavors: a professional edition for individuals and small firms; and an enterprise edition with centralized administrative controls for larger corporations.
The new service will bring business-class IM, online conferencing, collaboration, desktop sharing and advanced multimedia services to the global workplace, said Curry.
Also working to AOL’s advantage is that instant messaging is becoming a popular tool, especially in certain industries like the financial sector and publishing, Mahowald said Because of its collaboration acumen, messaging likely will find even greater use in the future, he noted, especially as companies like AOL tout the security components of their services.
Instant messaging, used in more than 90 percent of North American workplaces, "has created a lot of headaches for IT managers because it is consumer software" that lacks the management and security features corporations need, said Michael Osterman, founder of Osterman Research. "AOL and WebEx have gone a long way toward solving the problems of instant messaging in the enterprise."
However, the biggest problem in the market is lack of interoperability between platforms, he said.
The market seems to be bifurcating with AOL and its partners, which will eventually include Google Talk through an agreement with Google, on one side, and Microsoft and Yahoo on the other.
When asked if there would be interoperability between the Microsoft-Yahoo IM network and AOL’s, Curry said: "I think we are slowly making our way there…We do not have anything to announce around that right now."
Analyst firm Radicati Group has suggested that IM use in business is set to double over the next three years.
Price Is Right
Two versions are being offered: the free service released recently and a fee-based service now in beta targeting larger enterprises, according to AOL spokesperson Krista Thomas. AOL currently boasts some 80 million global AIM users, reaching 75 percent of all enterprise instant messaging users, she noted.
“It would be a challenge to ask people to pay for an IM client when so many companies bundle it in free,” said Canalys analyst Rachel Power. “AOL is not used that heavily in business as it is.”
Although the AOL software will be able to communicate with existing AIM users, the corporate edition will allow videoconferencing via webcams and may also include a voice over IP element to allow calls between users.
Down the road, WebEx will offer the AIM Pro Business Edition that provides more robust administrative functions, including message archiving to comply with government regulations, Thomas said.
"This is an affordable option for businesses that want to easily connect with their vendors and customers and may not have the resources to adopt costly messaging systems," Thomas said. She cited the WebEx conferencing application and integration with Outlook calendars as key features of the new client.
AIM Pro PE is available as a free download from http://www.aol.com/aimpro. It replaces the basic AIM application, and will automatically import contact lists and account information from previous versions, the company said.