IM workplace use here to stay.

Instant messaging (IM) isn't just for kids anymore, and the sooner businesses come to grips with that fact, the better.

IM has been around for several years, but its use in the workplace--authorized by the company or not--is expected to surge in the next few years. For example, Gartner analyst David Smith predicts that 95 percent of employees will use IM as their de facto communications tool for voice, video, and text chatting by 2013. He also says that while IM use in business today is only 25 percent, it could hit 100 percent in 2010. That same year, Gartner predicts that the IM market will top $680 million, up from $267 million in 2005.

Smith noted that companies are currently trying to justify the use and risks of enterprise IM and whether or not they should invest in it. Firms in regulated industries also worry about compliance issues.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

"What's funny is that a lot of companies realize that there is already use of the public networks in their enterprise and now they second guess on deploying the enterprise-grade solution, which should be more secure," Smith told Internetnews.com.