Instant Messaging Rules: A Business Guide to Managing Policies, Security, and Legal Issues for Safe IM Communication

IM Rule # 12: Meet Your Employees in the Middle with Corporate Technology That Supports Personal Instant Messaging Tools.

Server-based gateway technology manages public IM traffic at the discretion of corporate IT. With a gateway product, management can test the network to determine whether consumer-grade clients are being used, control user IDs, monitor use, block content in compliance with policy, retain and store messages, block attachments, and detect viruses among other features. Management maintains control, while employees enjoy instant chat with the outside world.