In the early 2000s, a grassroots movement drove public network instant messaging (IM) into the enterprise. Informal IM-driven business networks matured, as IM joined email to become a transport for B2B and B2C business.

Yet, many businesses have neglected to apply the “lessons learned” in managing insecure email to insecure IM – they choose the ostrich approach. Six years later, IM is mainstreaming, and businesses are taking their heads out of the sand.