Sprint enters instant-message market

From...

By Michael Martin

(IDG) -- Sprint's E/Solutions group will unveil an instant-messaging service designed for enterprise-class business customers this week at Internet World.

Called Sprint Enterprise IM, the offering is network- and device-independent, meaning it can run over any wireless or wireline network and be accessed from a range of devices, including Palms, Handspring handheld devices, Research in Motion BlackBerry and Windows CE units. Customers can also use it over wireless phones and laptops.

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Sprint Enterprise IM consists of a number of third-party software packages. Sprint would not reveal the names of its partners.

Enterprise IM will be available as a hosted service, delivered from one of Sprint's Internet data centers, or housed within a corporate network.

What sets the offering apart from consumer-grade messaging services is security, Sprint says. All communication over Enterprise IM uses Secure Sockets Layer encryption. Customers can add more security.

Enterprise IM relies on text messaging, so it shouldn't strain business bandwidth resources, Sprint says. People can communicate with each other in real time.

The software can also be tied to a company's databases, letting users input and receive information on the fly.

Enterprise IM supports Wireless Application Protocol, Short Messaging Services and Java 2 Micro Edition.

Businesses using Enterprise IM should be able to cut down on the volume of e-mail and voice mail they have to deal with, says Keith Paglusch, president of Sprint E/Solutions.

Paglusch says Enterprise IM is suitable for businesses with more than 50 employees, although he expects that most firms adopting the system will be much larger.

Sprint's biggest competitor on the hosted and implementation assistance side will be IBM, Paglusch says.

A variety of business-class packages already exist for companies looking to implement an instant-messaging system in-house from companies such as Lotus, Jab Cast, Bantu, Divine Software, Jabber, WiredRed and Ikimbo.

The financial community also has a product hosted by a company called Communicator.

Business-class instant messaging is a market that's still in its infancy, says Rob Lancaster, an analyst with The Yankee Group. Some companies informally use consumer-class instant-messaging services. Others are just beginning to look at instant messaging, because in the past the service was often regarded as a consumer-class tool, used largely by teenagers.

Security has also been a major concern, Lancaster says. But business-class instant-messaging providers have made security a top priority.

Enterprise IM is available immediately. The price of the service will vary depending on the size of the organization and the amount of work required to integrate the software with a customer's databases.

Companies can trial the software for free by registering at Sprint's Web site and downloading the client. The free trial can be used for up to 20 seats for 60 days.