Corporate messenger: definition, purpose, tasks, security conditions, choice of the best and the principle of work

Corporate messenger is a tool with functions of instant messaging, file transfer, group chat and other related functions for working in the office. Employees from different departments, premises and cities, joining the same group, instantly receive information and have the opportunity to quickly discuss it. A discussion record can be exported or printed as a backup of the conference.

Corporate messenger features

Instant messaging is one of the very first networking tools designed to work together. Today it serves as the basis for many office services. Almost every collaboration tool available on the market offers instant messaging in addition to the features that are most familiar to users: voice, video, or screen.

However, with most instant messaging tools, the service is hosted over the public Internet, which can lead to the potential loss or theft of confidential data or information. Because of this risk, companies began to look for systems that can be placed on their own private network and have the communications necessary for doing business.

Unlike traditional methods of communication, such as email or phone calls, chat is an advantage of corporate messenger:

1. In those cases when the company is preparing to release a new project, the elements of which require close communication between departments and departments, it can perfectly cope with the tasks, instantly process all the necessary information.
2. Eliminates the time delay, no need to wait for a busy telephone line to free, there are no restrictions on size and type.
3. It offers more options to make communication more intelligent and convenient, for example, you can use the snapshot function, with the addition of text and callouts, so that everything is clear.
4. Unlike a free public mailer or chat, a corporate messenger will not allow employees to talk with friends, families during working hours.
5. All user accounts or the corporate mail mailer contact list will be controlled by the IT department. Everything that happened through the messenger will be recorded on the company’s server. This provides a reliable and confidential instant messaging network inside the office.

4 reasons why you choose corporate communications

Office communications in today's business environments are becoming more important to improve production efficiency. Free instant messengers, such as Yahoo, MSN or Skype, are popular and help people communicate. You can talk with friends, share photos, make videos for families, moreover, they are absolutely free. But there are some drawbacks to free instant messengers that can force users to abandon their use in the office environment.

Four reasons why a corporate messenger for a local network can work better for daily office communication:

1. Security. Message encryption takes place in an enterprise instant messaging solution. Unlike a free messenger, it encrypts all the data transmitted through the instant messenger network.
2. Everything's under control. It is configured and launched inside the company, IT departments fully control all communication. The system offers many useful features so that the program meets the needs of the company.
3. Increase work efficiency. You can set the presence status, send a message to the group, share a screenshot, get a warning when a new incoming message appears. The sent message will not show its contents if the recipient does not log in with his password for corporate communication.
4. Reliable technical support. The corporate messenger for the local network does not have insoluble problems of failure, as the software manufacturer offers quick support and assistance in troubleshooting.

In general, the messenger is safe and stable for business communication. Therefore, the user will easily choose the appropriate one to replace emails, phone calls and free instant messengers for the office.

Required SMS exchange service package bundle

Some of the most common questions for users or customers who need corporate email: which corporate messenger to choose and the tasks that it can perform, or what is the difference between the traditional Exchange service and Office 365? The answer to these questions is quite simple and depends on needs. A small office will probably not have the same communication needs as a large company or telecom operator seeking to provide email service to its customers.

Mandatory configuration of enterprise messaging service:

1. Data hosting At present, the ability to guarantee the placement of their data is becoming an important element for European companies. This is done to ensure the responsible use of data and monitor the rules around the current security of the corporate messenger and user tasks.
2. Availability of services. Another element that must be taken into account is the guarantee of the availability of the services offered by the provider.
3. Technical support. You need to make sure that the provider performs personalized customer service. Many companies offer solutions for electronic communications and security, but not all of them guarantee individual monitoring and scalability in accordance with the needs of the company.

7 key development trends for 2018

As computerization continues to grow, interaction with partners and customers is becoming an increasingly important factor for companies. Contributing significantly to the success of these companies, communication procedures should become more efficient. Global messaging providers identified seven trends, the impact of which will be crucial this year for the corporate messenger (answer and description):

1. The workplace of the future. A modern office is slowly moving toward the cloud. To meet the growing demand for collaboration and mobility, many companies are switching to cloud solutions such as Microsoft Office 365.
2. Related companies. In the future, the success of society will largely depend on its ability to abandon obsolete methods. The development of intra-group ecosystems will develop. Companies prefer to constantly interact with their partners and customers, exchange information on different platforms and make joint decisions. Using corporate messaging services, companies can significantly improve their communication procedures.
3. Industry 4.0 and the Internet (IoT) is now an integral part of the business supply chain for the best corporate messenger. By 2020, about 25 billion devices will be connected via the Internet. To ensure reliable and automated interaction with each other, various standards must be reliably linked internationally.
4. Strengthening security requirements. With the growing interconnection of devices in IoT, the likelihood of malicious attacks is growing. As a result, network devices must be able to reliably identify themselves and communicate securely with each other.
5. Acceleration and innovation. During the digital transition, companies must meet customer expectations in order to stay one step ahead of the competition. Innovative cloud communications solutions seamlessly integrate with existing IT infrastructures and easily adapt to new emerging requirements.
6. Multichannel communication. With increasing mobility, the time, place, and the way consumers buy goods are variable. In order not to miss the “magical moment” when the client really decided to purchase the goods, companies should be able to get involved in the process at any stage of the selection, orient their customers with relevant offers available anywhere and anytime.
7. Full IP. In the coming years, many telecommunication service providers in Europe will switch to a completely IP-based data transmission system, the development of this type of corporate messenger is nearing completion. Therefore, companies will have to gradually solve the problems associated with this migration.

Five Enterprise Messaging Systems

Consider instant messaging systems that are designed to be used on a private corporate network. These systems, as a rule, are based on a client-server, have various sets of functions and are evaluated by the client as “all in one”. Five applications:

1. BigAnt is a basic instant messaging system with a few additional subtleties. In addition to the main chat function, it also offers offline chat, group chat, voice and video chats. Accounts can be configured manually or imported from Active Directory to simplify configuration. The BigAnt standard costs $ 299 (20,300 rubles) for the server and $ 15.90 (1,080 rubles) for each client license.
2. Messenger for the corporate network Bopup. It has the same features as BigAnt, but specializes in voice and video. He is able to communicate with newsletters, import Active Directory, transfer and distribute files, and also claims that the client software works well with Citrix and Terminal Server environments . Again, it has message archiving available for all regulatory purposes. Bopup costs $ 190 (12,900 rubles) for the server and $ 12.90 (879 rubles) for each simultaneous connection, while the price of the client decreases in certain quantities.
3. DBabble is one of the smallest sets of software functions in this list, it also has the ability to fine-tune the tasks of the company. System administrators can modify almost every piece of text on the Internet or the Windows client and paste images in specific places, such as logos and even ads. DBabble has the ability to create groups for IT support, where the user is randomly assigned to an available support person for one-on-one communication. The price for each server is $ 485 (33 thousand rubles).
4. Openfire, along with its Spark client, is the only free open source system on this list. It also has a small set of kernel functions - only text chat, but there are many plugins for expanding functionality, including voice and video. Openfire is the only server software on this list that does not work as a system service on Windows, it should run as an application.
5. Winpopup LAN Messenger is the only choice on this list where server software is optional. Because of this simplicity, it does not have an extended feature set. It is limited to group and individual chat. Using Winpopup LAN Messenger is free for three users, and then costs $ 14.95 (1,000 rubles).

Decentralized Jabber Network

Jabber Corporate Messenger is another instant messaging system. The Jabber / XMPP network is decentralized, which means that there is no single server provider for it. Anyone can install the Jabber server using free software. All these servers communicate with each other according to the XMPP standard. Jabber has become the original form of communication protocol, now called XMPP, Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol. It was invented by Jeremy Miller in the late 1990s, then it was about real-time communication in the format of "My contacts on the network right now" and the maintenance of a contact list on the server side.

The term "extensible" implies that there are many official extensions for XMPP called XMPP Extension Protocols (XEPs). Some of these extensions are causing Jabber to become popular again. They add new features to transform XMPP into a more modern messaging system. These features were implemented in XMPP with the following areas:

1. Message Carbons (XEP-0280) allows the server to send SMS to all account devices.
2. SMS archive management is a database in which all messages are stored so that stand-alone devices can come and collect them later.
3. Flow control resumes a session for devices after an Internet failure.
4. A client status indication informs the server about whether users are actively using the application or whether it is running in the background. To save battery life, the server will not send unnecessary information to devices.
5. Push Notifications (XEP-0357) allows the XMPP server to wake mobile devices to make them read new messages.

Live chat

Messenger is a cross-platform tool, a corporate chat instant messenger for mobile devices that carries all the risk of using instant messaging in the workplace. Features of the program:

1. Secure instant messaging with Micro Focus eDirectoryTM user authentication and SSL message encryption.
2. A contact list that displays user information based on the information available in eDirectory Micro Focus.
3. Fully secure apps for iOS and Android mobile devices.
4. Support for Windows, OS X and Linux platforms.
5. User presence indicators showing when users are online, busy, in standby, or have user status in GroupWise and Micro Focus Vibe.
6. Presence lock.
7. Multi-user conversations.
8. Archive for search at the corporate level.
9. Broadcasts.
10. Personal story.
11. Chats.

Slack Service Application

Since the emergence of the popular Slack corporate messenger, business messaging applications have quickly become a means of daily communication in all the groups that bring podcasts to the company. In fact, this is one place where you can communicate with colleagues, both in real time and in asynchronous mode. Cooperation can be individually, only invited, or to those who in the organization decide to join. Reasonably used, such services can increase productivity, improve teamwork, and even help create a corporate culture. Slack integrates with dozens of other tools, so it can be used for third-party developers. If this is not enough, you can use another application.

A multifunctional application - a secure corporate messenger Glip by RingCentral. It offers several tools that are not in Slack. For example, Glip has collaborative document editing, a team calendar, and task management tools. Glip also has built-in tools for marking up images and PDF, which is a real bonus for teams that often discuss visual material. If the team already uses VoIP RingCentral Office for $ 7.99 (544 rubles) in RingCentral, then there is no need to pay extra for Glip.

Whatsapp for small businesses

WhatsApp has released a special application of the popular Russian corporate messenger for use by small enterprises, in order to communicate with customers. WhatsApp Business adds key features in the form of a business profile, for mail, store websites, intelligent SMS exchange tools, such as greetings and more. For those who use a business number and personal WhatsApp, Business and Messenger are installed on the same device, while they can be registered with different numbers.

Business is also compatible with a web browser client. Features of the program:

1. Image quick response feature.
2. WhatsApp sessions of companies that have confirmed the phone number of their account correspond to their business and function immediately after receiving a confirmation icon in the profile.
3. It is free and available for any OS, including Android users.

WhatsApp Business is currently in use in Russia, the EU, Mexico, the UK and the USA, with future global deployment in the rest of the world.

Linux Migration: Enterprise Collaboration

The Linux Corporate Messenger completes the review series on corporate collaboration and communication. The vast majority of organizations depend on Microsoft technologies (Exchange, Office, etc.), so using Linux in such environments can be a bit complicated depending on the level of management tasks.

If the employer has chosen the Office 365 communication environment and related services, and specialists often need to hold meetings and calls, then using Linux as the main desktop OS is likely to be possible only in conjunction with a Windows virtual machine that has messaging applications. They host instant messaging, text, private forums, video calls, and sometimes even screen sharing in one specialized collaboration application. If the employer also uses some other meeting technologies, then Linux can be used as the primary desktop OS.

Company executives should evaluate their choices based on specific needs and make the right decision for any OS, be it Windows, OS X or Linux.