We’re all familiar with the concept of Instant Messaging (IM). It usually involves a software that allows you to talk to your contacts (friends, acquaintances, colleagues) in real time. Most of us enjoy chatting via IM, because it gives us the luxury of putting our point across to someone in a quick and casual Web environment. And it doesn’t matter if the person you’re talking to happens to be in another city or in the cubicle next to yours; those pinging or glowing pop-ups remind us that someone, somewhere, is listening and responding to what you’re saying.

   In recent times, ‘IMing’ has evolved from being a guilty workplace pleasure to a practice condoned, if not supported, by company managements. Why? Because using IMing to stay in touch with colleagues, vendors or customers is the quickest way to gets things done, even faster than emails!

   The email age, of course, came with its own set of compulsions – lengthy attachments, multiple addressees and politically correct language. In fact, an outcome of ‘corporate email-itis’ is annoying masses of pompous mails flying back and forth between teams and departments with rather little effect. But converts to Instant Messaging swear by IM, since it not only nullifies the need to shoot mails at every little opportunity, but is also better at gauging what a person really thinks - there just isn’t enough time to filter your thoughts! IMs are also more action-oriented, since it is possible for users to congregate in a common area and simultaneously exchange a lot of ideas good bad or outrageous, while working towards a quicklyacceptable solution. “Adopting an IM culture makes a lot of logical sense. A business needs and runs on information and if this information is available in realtime, then what harm can be done? Businesses will benefit manifold from the usage of IMs,” affirms Kalpana Srinivasan, HR Head, Aspire Systems.

CORPORATE CH@TTER
The earliest users of IMs were children and young people who festooned their prattle with sprightly smilies and text effects. But today, corporate India has been taking IMs quite seriously and employees across the board are finding messaging an extremely useful business collaboration and socialising tool. Forty-two year old Vipul Saxena, Vice President – HR, Khatau Group and a Yahoo user, says, “I find IM extremely useful while interacting with my team members. My colleagues often reach me on messenger when there are quick decisions to be made.” Shweta Singh (name changed), a PR executive, says that IMs add tremendous convenience to her everyday job viz. dealing with clients and coworkers in distant locations. “When you are talking to someone, it is easier to ask questions and clarifications instantaneously – rather than sending an e-mail and waiting for a reply”, she clarifies, adding, “One can argue that if a person is on their desk, they would reply to an e-mail just as quickly, however, a window popping up on your screen demands an acknowledgment that can never happen with an unread mail in the inbox.” MSN, Yahoo and Google are some of the popular IM software around. There are also several corporate IM tools in the market today. These offer a greater level of security and can be customised according to your needs. One of these tools is IBM’s Lotus Sametime software, which comes with chat and web conferencing facilities. Kalyan Sridhar, Country Manager, Sales & Operations, IBM, says, “There is a lot of freeware (free-todownload messaging software) out there today, but Indian organisations are now ready to spring extra money for getting secure corporate IM platforms in place, since they offer greater security.” He adds, “According to a recent study, the market for IM products is expected to be around $ 570 million worldwide by 2007. Clearly, the need for real-time collaboration at work is fast increasing.”

CH@T CONTROL
While IM gains popularity in corporate India, some sectors, like BPO, have strict security policies that ban all personal communication at work. “I don’t see BPOs ever using messaging tools. With time, security laws at BPOs are bound to become stricter and we see internet as a big threat to information security,” says Manuel D’Souza, VPHR, Intelenet Global Services. Some organisations are also concerned that permitting the use of instant messaging at work will give people a free license to waste time and shoot the breeze with friends, which in turn could take a toll on productivity levels. However, what an individual chooses to do with his/her time is a reflection of the person’s own commitment and job maturity. “However, it is certainly possible to educate individuals to respect privacy, confidentiality, corporate culture and ethics, etc. and minimise incidental risks,” says Srinivasan. Chatting is also a great way to take a break during a hectic day at work. But be warned: many companies frequently monitor employee usage. So if you do chat, make sure you don’t discuss personal issues, divulge confidential information or make remarks that are not likely to be taken kindly to. Our suggestion: use separate messaging clients for work and pleasure. This might minimise the temptation to chat with your buddies when you should be working. Instant Messaging, once a rage among recreational users, is finding widespread usage across corporate India. As Sridhar says, “Today, you have accepted emails, tomorrow, it will be IMs.”

(Illustration by Sachin Varadkar)