EXECUTIVE TECHNOLOGY BRIEFING
October 2001

HOT NEWS IN THIS REPORT:

1. Instant Messaging Goes to Work
2. Coming Soon: Next Generation PDA/Phone/Messaging Devices
3. Cool Tool: TRILLIAN
4. Registrars
5. Book Review: Getting Things Done

Executive Technology Briefing (ETB)
Editor/Publisher: Jordan Ayan
Contributing Editor: Chuck Frey

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INSTANT MESSAGING GOES TO WORK

Instant messaging software, first used by teens for online gab sessions, is rapidly coming of age as a valuable tool for business communication and e-commerce. Forrester Research predicts that by the end of 2001, 46 percent of the 1,000 largest U.S. companies are already using IM for corporate communication, up 10 percent from last year. According to another study by the Gartner Group, instant messaging services will be used in 70 percent of enterprises by 2003. But much of this growth so far has come without the support of corporate IT departments, which tend to view instant messaging as a major security risk.

Our goal in this issue of ETB is to help you understand both the compelling benefits of using instant messaging in your business but also the potential risks. We'll also take a look at how IM technology is evolving into more robust business tools that can help your company to streamline its communications.

WHAT IS INSTANT MESSAGING?

If you haven't used instant messaging (IM) before, here's how it works. A "buddy list," which functions something like an address book, contains the IM address of your personal and business contacts. It tells you whether each person is currently online and available to chat with you. A central server enables you to quickly and easily connect you with one or more of your compatriots in a "chat" session, sending and receiving brief text messages in a pop-up window. Some IM software programs also allow you to share files with each other. The most popular IM software programs are AOL Instant Messenger (http://www.aol.com/aim), MSN Messenger (http://messenger.msn.com) and ICQ (http://www.icq.com). IM's COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

Despite its humble roots as a teen chat application, instant messaging has awesome potential for business applications, because it provides a set of ready-made standards for one-to-one sharing of information between people and business systems.

One of IM's biggest benefits to businesses is "presence detection" -- the ability to tell when people on your buddy list are available to chat online. This feature can help you to significantly reduce inefficient "telephone tag" and disjointed e-mail "conversations" with coworkers, customers, suppliers, distributors, and others at remote locations. According to Gartner Group, companies using IM throughout their operations could reduce their use of internal e-mail by 30 to 40 percent, and voice mail by 10 to 15 percent. In short, instant messaging can help companies to improve the efficiency and speed of their communications.

Web-based instant messaging applications like HumanClick (http://www.humanclick.com) and LivePerson (http://www.liveperson.com) enable you to provide a higher level of customer support on your Web site. When visitors to your Web site have problems or questions, they can click on an icon to start an instant "chat" with a customer support representative - helping them to get the information they need now, and helping to build customer loyalty. These applications not only enhance the appeal of your Web site, they can also help you to reduce your telephone support costs (toll-free phone lines are expensive!). Also, customer support representatives can hold several IM "conversations" at a time, significantly increasing their efficiency.

Instant messaging can also be used for such powerful applications as collaborating with customers, suppliers, distributors, and other partners outside of your organization, for simple distance learning applications, and for any other situation where you need to get and share small bits of information, quickly get an answer to a question or communicate quickly with others.

B2B POTENTIAL OF INSTANT MESSAGING

A growing number of software companies are now working on next-generation instant messaging tools that will expand the capabilities of IM beyond text-based "chats" and simple file sharing. These B2B incarnations of IM include capabilities such as application sharing, wireless instant messaging and even audio and video feeds, all running on the same underlying Internet messaging standards. These business-oriented programs also offer security features that are absent from consumer IM programs.

Bantu Messenger (http://corp.bantu.com/products.asp) is one such tool. It offers secure message encryption and support for digital certificates (which confirm to the other party in an e-commerce transaction that you are who you say you are), plus support for the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) used on many portable computing and messaging devices. In its just released Windows XP, Microsoft has enhanced MSN Messenger to support audio and video chat sessions. Lotus has offered SameTime (http://www.lotus.com/home.nsf/welcome/sametime), a business-oriented IM application, since 1998. Other players in the B2B instant messaging market include Jabber, Mercury, Prime, QuickSilver, 2Way, Ikimbo, Ezenia and NetLert.

What's even more exciting are the possibilities of combining instant messaging standards with XML (a set of standards for data interchange between businesses). Until now, there hasn't been a common ground where business applications would come together and communicate to each other - other than EDI, which is very expensive and complex to implement.

IM communication standards could become a pipeline, sending XML messages containing information or transaction data from one company's business system to another. Recipients of these XML-based B2B messages could then process them as they wish, without having to be tied to a complex data interchange standard. In effect, instant messaging services would become message brokers and routers, enabling asynchronous conversations between different organizations' business systems. Jabber (http://www.jabber.org) is an open-source IM client that is based on XML. An IM tool like this could very well become the foundation for a communications infrastructure that moves XML messages between businesses.

SECURITY CONCERNS

Like e-mail in its early days, IM is being implemented by employees without the permission and support of their corporate IT departments. Free IM software is easy for most people to download and configure; because it utilizes standard HTTP ports, it's easy to pass IM messages through most corporate firewalls.

But free, consumer-oriented IM tools like AOL Instant Messenger and MSN Messenger are notoriously insecure. Don't use them to communicate any potentially sensitive corporate information. IM logs can be stolen, and IM software is particularly vulnerable to viruses and hackers. Because of these risks, uncontrolled use of instant messaging software could result in employees inadvertently divulging trade secrets to people outside of your organization, or making libelous or harassing statements that could open your company to legal risks.

I recommend that you experiment with instant messaging today, but be careful about what you communicate to others. I travel often, and use instant messaging to check in with the staff back in my Chicago office. It's a quick and convenient way to touch base with them from the road, while at the same time reducing my long-distance telephone costs. I also recommend that you look into the next-generation IM software that is now becoming available. I think this technology has a lot of potential, and should be considered as part of your firm's e-business strategy.

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COMING SOON: NEXT GENERATION PDA/PHONE/MESSAGING DEVICES

During the second half of this year, a number of handheld computing devices have been announced that promise to combine the functionality of a handheld PC, cell phone and wireless messaging - but in new form factors that should be much more user friendly than anything to date.

In mid-October, Handspring announced the Treo - a combination PDA, cellular phone and messaging and wireless Web device that will become available in early 2002. Three new models in this product line look similar in size to a Handspring PDA, except for a shorter screen and a flip lid for the cell phone's earpiece. The Treo line will run on Global System for Mobile Communications cellular networks (herein GSM), but are really designed to work with next-generation GSM Packet Radio System networks (herein GPRS) that are just starting to be deployed in the U.S. GPRS will allow always-on access to the Web and e-mail. One of the three models will have a miniature keyboard, similar to the Research In Motion (herein RIM) Blackberry pagers. The Treo devices will cost approximately $400 to $600.

In early October, Samsung announced that it would offer a handheld/PC phone line in 2002 that will be based on Microsoft's Pocket PC operating system.

Also, earlier this year Microsoft announced "Stinger," software that will run on a family of "smart phones" - wireless phones with large color displays that will be designed for wireless Web access and conventional phone calls. Little information has been released on the progress of this initiative since Microsoft announced it in July 2001 and its fate remains uncertain.

I predict that new next-generation handheld convergence products, along with the deployment of GPRS networks in the U.S., signal the beginning of practical, affordable wireless Web access. I recommend that you keep a close eye on developments in this area of technology, and begin brainstorming on how your organization can leverage these powerful tools. The potential for anytime, anywhere data access and messaging is likely to be truly amazing in the years ahead.

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COOL TOOL: TRILLIAN

http://www.trillian.cc

In the world of instant messaging, AOL Instant Messenger, MSN Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, ICQ and IRC (Internet Relay Chat) are the most popular software programs. As IM has grown in popularity, users have found that they need more than one chat program to communicate with their friends and business associates. There has been no single "killer application" that could tie all of these services together into one software program - until now.

Trillian, a free IM chat program from Cerullian Studios, has succeeded in merging all five of the most popular chat mediums into a single, easy to use program. When you first install Trillian, a wizard-like dialog box captures your account numbers and other pertinent information for any existing IM accounts, connection settings and buddy lists you may have with these popular services. It then uses this data to connect with each service, and displays your buddy lists in one consolidated view.

We recently tested Trillian, and found it very easy to set up and use. We have friends and business associates who use both MSN's and AOL's IM networks; it was amazing to be able to communicate with both groups of people with only one program. Trillian can be downloaded for free from the company's Web site.

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REGISTRARS

Many of our clients have received notices that state they are from the "Domain Support Group." They appear to be official notification claiming your domain name has expired, or is about to expire. The notice states that you are "required" to contact the "notification processor," or risk losing your domain. This notice is very similar to ones received about a year ago from the "Electronic Domain Name Monitoring" Service (see http://www.create-it.com/etbstory.cfm?etb=12). Basically, it appears that this company uses such official-looking notices to get you to call them. Once on the phone, they attempt to get you to sign-up for their services. Our advice - if you want to register your .info domain, visit http://www.afilias.com. You can check to see if the domain is available, and access a list of official registrars.

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BOOK REVIEW: GETTING THINGS DONE

http://www.davidco.com

Traditional time management techniques just aren't as effective as they were in the days when everything was on paper. According to David Allen, author of "Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity," most time management methods and tools -- including Microsoft Outlook and Palm handheld computers - aren't able to accommodate the speed, complexity and changing priority factors that most executives face every day.

Allen's solution, which he outlines in this excellent book, is an almost Zen-like approach that emphasizes a set of simple project and next action lists that can help you maintain a clear mind, make better decisions and be more relaxed and creative in your work.

The book is filled with helpful ideas, tips, and suggestions on how to put Allen's simple but profound tactics for managing actions and projects to work for you. His Web site contains an excellent e-book that explains how to use the principles from Allen's book to reconfigure Microsoft Outlook to work with his system. This book is must reading for every busy executive -- I highly recommend it.

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That's all for now. I welcome your comments and feedback on the Executive Technology Briefing.

Jordan Ayan
President
Create-It! Inc.