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

Instant Messaging (IM) is quickly rivaling e-mail as the electronic communications tool of choice in offices worldwide. Already used by over 100 million people globally, IM will be used more often than e-mail by 2005. Employees at 70% of U.S. companies are expected to use IM this year — whether for legitimate business reasons or for personal purposes. But while business and personal interest in IM is exploding, the potential for problems is growing just as fast.
Instant Messaging Rules addresses the potentially costly legal, regulatory, productivity, security, training, and management challenges that IM brings to the workplace. Complete with sample policies, this timely guide offers workable solutions for establishing and enforcing rules and policies that will let any company maximize the business potential of IM technology. A best practices toolkit for workplace IM usage, Instant Messaging Rules will help employers keep their organizations out of harm’s way, while giving employees access to a cutting-edge, productivity-enhancing tool.