IM vendor IMLogic Inc. on Monday introduced software designed to give IT administrators the power to centrally manage IM use within the enterprise.
IMlogic IM Manager adds security, reporting, and archiving capabilities to all major public and private IM offerings, including America Online Inc.’s AOL Instant Messenger, Microsoft Corp.’s MSN Messenger, Yahoo Inc.’s Messenger, Microsoft Exchange 2000 IM, and Lotus Sametime.
The reality of IM in enterprises today is there are a variety of systems in use and no central place to manage it, according to Francis deSouza, president and CEO of IMlogic, based in Boston.
“There is no one IM solution to fit all enterprise needs,” deSouza said. For example, a company may elect to deploy Lotus Sametime as the designated corporate IM standard, but Sametime doesn’t talk to customers or partners using AOL or MSN, he said.
However, deSouza noted that no matter how many different types of IM systems are in use in a company, network administrators and CTOs must find a way to manage and support what’s there.
“There is no one IM solution, but enterprises need one place to manage the infrastructure. They need to secure, manage, and have policies across all of it,” he said.
True enterprise caliber IM is “not just about security or reporting. It is really about network management,” deSouza said.
IM Manager can be centrally deployed without requiring client configuration changes, client software, or logon scripts, according to company officials.
In addition, IM Manager can report how much IM traffic is crossing the network and what services are being used. The system can also map any IM message directly to a username in a corporate directory or a network logon identity.
Other features of IM Manager include the ability to block file transfers and disable IM networks from corporate use in the event of a virus threat. The system also stores all IM in a searchable archive to meet regulatory requirements for electronic communications.
Back in February, Microsoft announced a licensing agreement with IMlogic to embed IMlogic’s archiving technology into future Microsoft products. IMlogic’s archiving capabilities will be part of Microsoft’s forthcoming Greenwich Real Time Communications Server, according to deSouza.