Instant messaging has come a long way since it started in the 1960s. Most IM clients today feature a standard set of tools, such as a contact list, file transfer across multiple protocols, Voice Over IP (mimicking what used to be known as a phone call) and chat logging. They can be a major boon to your business, but which system should you use?

IM client software is vulnerable to viruses and phishing attempts, and they often expose open UDP ports to the outside world. Connections usually take place in plain text making it easy to eavesdrop, and passwords can also be stored in the same way (a particular criticism of Pidgin). But many companies believe that they have enough security systems in place to deal with these issues or are set up in such a way that they are happy to use one of the free IM client systems. These systems are known as Consumer Instant Messaging (CIM) systems, and the most popular include AIM, ICQ, Pidgin , Skype and Windows Live Messenger). In our opinion Skype is the most superior of them all and just keeps getting better. Skype is actually an encrypted VOIP system with IM attached. With all of the usual features, Skype can seamlessly integrate with landline and mobile phones and can share computer screens (though the quality is still relatively low). Voice and video calls, including conferencing, are of the highest quality and, with support on a number of mobile phones and other devices, we believe this is truly the king of CIM.

But if you have concerns about CIM, then EIM (Enterprise Instant Messaging) is probably for you. Enterprise versions of IM are aimed at corporations who want a system to be integrated within their corporate environments using an internal IM server. EIM platforms include IBM Lotus Sametime, Microsoft Office Communications Server and Jabber XCP. For some companies there can be no compromise, in which case these are the systems of choice. But EIM is expensive and can often be impractical, so if that makes them prohibitive for your company then CIM is probably the way to go.

If you believe that the benefits of CIM outweigh any other concerns then you will quickly find it to be a major benefit to your company. Skype, in particular, is a business tool that many of us could only dream about a few years ago. If you haven’t tried it yet then we suggest that you do – you will not look back.