The last year has shown considerable advances in the enterprise space for Instant Messaging (IM) with offerings from Microsoft, Yahoo and AOL, as well as integration packages for Lotus Notes, Novell Groupwise and most large email platforms.

According to a recent article in SearchSecurity.com, though IM adoption is slowing amid security and compatibility concerns.

“Lack of secure interoperable protocols hinder enterprise IM and online collaboration” says Phebe Waterfield, a security and services analyst for the Boston-based research firm the Yankee Group. She found the biggest roadblock to full IM adoption is “the lack of interoperability on IM networks and the absence of unified collaboration solutions.”

IM has proven to be a huge corporate enabler, specifically in teams where instant communication may be key but has been hindered in the past by the intrusion factor of phone conversations or the difficulty of organizing face-to-face meetings.