* Survey says companies looking to integrate e-mail with variety of technologies
We have just completed a major study on the messaging/e-mail market, in which we asked organizations about the existing or planned integration of their messaging/e-mail systems with other messaging technologies.
Here’s what we found:
* Corporate Webmail is widespread. Sixty-two percent of organizations have integrated their corporate messaging systems with Webmail, and another 22% very likely or definitely will do so in the future. Corporate access to messaging resources through a browser is advantageous for traveling users, users who work remotely, partners, consultants and others who need access to a corporate messaging system, since it allows access to these resources without IT having to deploy and manage full client software.
* Wireless devices have been widely integrated with corporate messaging systems. We found that 41% of organizations have already integrated Blackberry devices with their corporate messaging system, and another 17% very likely or definitely will do so. Clearly, Blackberry devices are typically used by only a minority of users within the typical enterprise that has performed such integration, but we anticipate that the majority of enterprises will eventually provide wireless access to messaging resources, either through Blackberry devices or through wireless PDAs.
* Instant messaging (IM) has been integrated with messaging systems in 22% of organizations, and another 40% very likely or definitely will integrate these systems. The integration of IM with traditional e-mail and other messaging functions provides important capabilities, including the ability to use IM with calendaring functions, the ability to receive instant messages via e-mail when users are offline and so forth. The relatively low percentage of organizations that have integrated IM with traditional messaging is indicative of the significant penetration of consumer-grade IM in corporate environments.
* Only 10% of organizations have integrated messaging with kiosks, but another 24% plan to do so. This indicates that most organizations have not provided messaging to nontraditional workers, such as factory floor workers or those who work behind a retail counter, and that most organizations may never do so. Other research we have conducted indicates that there is some resistance to offering messaging to these workers for reasons of cost, as well as concerns over the efficacy of using messaging as a means of distributing information to people who don’t sit behind a computer as a normal part of their job.
