Got these back-to-back emails this morning:
1) Akonix press release on the dangers of "Uncontrolled employee IM use."
2) Inc.com Small Business email: How an IM "Open Door" policy makes employees more productive.
Akonix makes some good products and its CEO, Peter Shaw, is a smart and interesting guy; I covered the company for Always On in 2004. But in this instance I definitely side with openness over security. Sure, IM opens the door for employees to leak information. But so does letting them go home each night. So scan outbound IM for files and confidential data if you must, but don't put a lid on IM use. As the Inc.com story illustrates, putting IM in the hands of employees can lead to intelligent and productive use in ways you likely have not foreseen.
