IMPlanet Weekly News Break
By Michael Hall - February 3, 2005
BlowSearch launches secure messenger; New variant of Bropia.A MSN Messenger worm returns to plague users; AppGate announces secure mobile IM for Sony Ericsson phones. Client Watch: New versions of IM2 and AdiumX.

'Critical' Patches For Windows, Messenger on Deck
By Tim Gray - February 3, 2005
Monthly patch and fixes for February include flaws or vulnerabilities in Windows Media and Messenger.

IMPlanet Weekly News Break
By Michael Hall - January 27, 2005
Akonix announces industry-first hardware IM appliance; Stellar launches Internet GEM for real-time, compliance-oriented reporting; Yahoo! touts survey results showing college students are using IM to get school work done.

Build Your Own IM Server with Jabber
By Carla Schroder - January 27, 2005
With a lot of positive buzz behind it as an open standard anyone can build on XMPP has made a real impression. Here's how to build a Linux-based Jabber server to see for yourself how you can deploy IM in your organization for the cost of the hardware.

IMPlanet Weekly News Break
By Michael Hall - January 20, 2005
Bropia.A plagues MSN Messenger users; Reuters launches regulatory compliance program aimed at its messaging offering; Genesys latest to jump on Microsoft Real-Time Collaboration Group framework and Istanbul; Macintosh multi-network IM client Proteus gets an update.

MindAlign 6.0 Realigns EIM
By Nelson King - January 18, 2005
Parlano's MindAlign brings robust enterprise features to the table. In addition to offering the standard IM and chat capabilities, this Java application maintains persistent forums, chat threads, and more.

IMPlanet Weekly News Break
By Michael Hall - January 13, 2005
XMPP has a good week as Conversant, Antepo, and Jive Software move ahead with servers and CRM solutions; the Air Force brings families together with IM; Digital Lifestyles Group and AOL ink a deal to bring AIM to hip-e products; plus the latest IM planet news reports.

Microsoft-Siemens Deal Targets Large Enterprise Messaging
By Michael Hall - January 11, 2005
A joint effort between Microsoft and Siemens will bring PBX-connected phones into the Live Communications Server fold and target large enterprises looking for real-time communications products.

Microsoft Pushes Hosted IM and More for SMBs
By Dan Muse - January 10, 2005
While service providers have long offered hosted Microsoft Exchange, today's announcement of Microsoft Solution for Hosted Messaging and Collaboration 3.0 means small businesses can now also tap collaboration and instant messaging as a service.

Updated: In Review: 2004 Set Stage for Real IM Fun (and Revenue)
By Paul Rubens - December 29, 2004
It started with an innocuous announcement from the IETF and ended with a radical realignment among IM's major players. 2004 might not have made anyone in enterprise IM rich, but it certainly set the stage for a year of opportunities.

IMPlanet Weekly News Break
By Michael Hall - December 16, 2004
AOL and MCI partner for deaf and hard-of-hearing users; Sun's latest development environment features real-time collaboration tools; Cerulean Studios releases beta version of its Trillian chat client; ICQ 5 beta begins to draw attention; and Gadu Gadu found to contain multiple vulnerabilities.

Study: Enterprise IM Could Reap ROI in Days
By Sean Michael Kerner - December 15, 2004
A new study by the Radicati Group estimates that a 5,000-employee organization could save $37.5 million per year in productivity with IM.

Putting IM to Practice
By Dan Muse - December 14, 2004
This medical firm offered the latest in cosmetic surgery technology, yet its inter-office communication consisted mainly of Post-It notes and intercoms. Then the company gave its process a facelift and moved to IBM Lotus instant messaging software.

AOL to Restore Dropped Screen Names
By Tim Gray - December 14, 2004
The company expects to reinstate 10,000 IM users by end of the day.

IMPlanet Weekly News Break
By Michael Hall - December 9, 2004
Omnipod rolls out support for WebEx 'net meetings; Aplus.Net to offer e/pop Web conferencing to SMB clients; Akonix introduces L7 Builder IM app development tool; AOL mistakenly clobbers active user accounts in routine dormant user purge. ClientWatch: Imvite releases ad-driven multichat client with a MLM twist.

IM Threat Center Formed
By Sean Michael Kerner - December 7, 2004
A consortium creates the center to inform and educate IM users about threats.

ASAP Pro 2.0 Adds Presence-Enabled Links
By Dan Muse - December 6, 2004
Convoq launches a new version of its Web conferencing service for small and mid-sized businesses.

IMPlanet Weekly News Break
By Michael Hall - December 2, 2004
Microsoft jumps on the blogwagon, ties IM into new MSN Spaces offerings; Voiceglo says it brings convergence to four popular IM networks; HP pushes converged broadband/mobile apps; Sage reports Yahoo! and AOL EIM popular from beyond the grave. Clientwatch: A $99 IM device; IM2 1.5 set for launch, MSN Messenger beta released.

AOL Gives Voice to Consumers
By Tim Gray - December 2, 2004
'Party-line' voice conferencing is now available at home and work.

ICQ Launches Improved E-Mail Service
By Tim Gray - November 23, 2004
Spreading into the portal space, the instant messaging company also announces premium plan.