Win XP to Include Instant Messaging

Computerworld - Microsoft Corp. said last week that it will make its instant messaging (IM) tool available on users' desktops in the Windows XP operating system.

In addition, Windows Messenger, scheduled for release as part of Windows XP on Oct. 25., will for the first time give users the ability to send audio and video files over instant messaging software.

But if Microsoft hopes these capabilities will send corporate users its way, it may be mistaken. The technology will most likely be used by individuals, according to Robert Mahowald, an analyst at IDC in Framingham, Mass.

"I don't think this will be directly tied to a meaningful bump in enterprise users, at least in the short term," he said. "Microsoft hasn't specified exactly how it plans to deploy Windows Messaging services, but [IDC analysts believe] that as businesses articulate their requirements for enterprise IM, especially around security, scalability and application integration capabilities, they will stop at Windows Messaging on their way to more robust messaging platforms."

Instant messaging is used predominantly by consumers, but it has great growth potential in the corporate market. According to a new IDC study, the number of corporate users of instant messaging systems will grow from 18.3 million this year to 229 million in 2005. The number of individual users is expected to swell from 132 million today to more than 300 million in 2005, according to the IDC study.

Windows Product Manager Tom Laemell said the Windows Messenger will also work through Microsoft's Passport, a single sign-on for all Windows applications.