IM Users: Your Boss Is Watching 

Instant messaging -– a tool many perceive as off-limits to the prying eyes of employers –- may soon be going the way of e-mail.

In the interests of record-keeping and tighter security, industry analysts say a growing number of companies that allow instant messaging in the office are also monitoring its usage.

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At the same time, the free instant-messaging platforms that have propagated in workplaces are getting retrofitted for a new world order.

This week, the vision of widespread instant-messaging monitoring came closer to reality when AOL -– whose AIM service reigns as the unofficial 300-pound gorilla among instant-messaging providers –- announced the launch of a service for businesses.

The offering, AIM Enterprise Gateway, is based on the free instant-messaging service, but gives companies significantly more control over how employees use it. For a monthly fee, customers can track instant-messaging usage, control who gets access and keep archives of message strings.

Bruce Stewart, AOL senior vice president, said the company decided to begin developing a business service more than a year ago, after many users requested a more secure version of the free platform.

"We heard from companies that they love AIM, but they want to be able to better manage its usage," Stewart said. He said AOL is also offering a service that lets companies reserve specific AIM user names and plans to roll out encrypted messaging next year.

Although AOL certainly isn't the first company to move into the instant-messaging monitoring arena, its entry is significant due to the sheer size of its user base, said Michael Osterman, president of the consulting firm Osterman Research.

According to Osterman, AOL is the most widely used instant-messaging platform in the workplace, although its use is largely unregulated by employers.

AOL says that more than a billion messages are exchanged daily over its network, much of that volume emanating from the workplace.

But in businesses that require extensive record-keeping -- such as financial services -- the popular free instant-messaging service doesn't offer the archiving ability those companies require.

Regulators require securities businesses to keep track of all communications with clients. That includes instant messaging, as well as e-mail, said Sara Radicati, president of The Radicati Group.

In the wake of the Martha Stewart trading imbroglio, brokerage record-keeping practices have been in the spotlight. Those who don't have proper archives of instant-messaging conversations can find themselves out of compliance with securities regulations.

Trouble is, what satisfies regulators can make employees uneasy. People don't use instant messaging with the expectation that their every typo is being recorded, which could present a problem for firms that use monitoring tools, Radicati said.

"For individual employees, it's a big concern because there's an immediacy to using IM that is even greater than with e-mail," she said. "People are using it in a very casual manner and not thinking too much as they're typing."

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