A business instant messenger is a great productivity tool for any office. The urgency of the current economy to cut costs has made the convenience of a quality instant messenger service even more valuable.  Having a business instant messenger with the right features will allow you and your employees to cut travel costs and time incurred for business meetings by allowing attendees to participate right from their desks!

Brosix has all the features you need to save travel dollars and free up time to make your employees more productive. While not all business travel can be avoided, many times voice or video chat combined with the revolutionary screen sharing and whiteboard features that Brosix Instant Messenger includes will offer a valuable alternative. Some of the features available to conduct business meetings using your business instant messenger are: voice chat, video chat, file transfer, co-browse, whiteboard, screenshot, screen sharing, and voice conference.

In addition to reducing travel costs, features like video chat, file transfer, and co-browse make collaboration between distant branches or employees working from home quick and easy. Allowing employees the option to work from home offers further savings by eliminating the overhead costs involved with employee office space.

The co-browse feature allows the participants to share the view and browse web pages together. Any participant can control the page and guide the conversation. Whiteboard allows multiple users to design and brainstorm with tools like painting, color pallets, and text captions to visual ideas. With the addition of instant message texting, voice chat, or video chat, you and your business associates can hold and attend meetings without leaving the comfort and convenience of your desk.

This ability to increase communication between departments, locations, and business partners/clients gives your business added opportunity for growth and development with minimal cost added to your bottom line. Here are more suggested uses for business instant messenger as the new business meeting.

• Pre-presentation planning sessions – instead of arriving several days early and incurring additional hotel costs for the sake of planning sessions, utilize the Brosix instant messenger tools to plan and brainstorm your presentation without leaving the office
• Save potential clients and customers money by making use of voice chat or video chat thus lowering long distance calling
• When clients or co-workers have a question, quickly answer it using the co-browse or screen sharing tool
• Transfer files as you converse using the text messaging feature
• Never fear the confidentiality of your conversations and information sharing thanks to Brosix security measures

It is obvious that instant messaging is an asset to business. With instant messaging, users can communicate more quickly and efficiently with one another than just about any other form of long distance communication. Because of the sensitive nature of many business and professional communications, it is imperative that companies have secure instant messaging. Unfortunately, with IM’s rise in use, hackers have developed ways to attack computers through instant messages. Like email, instant messages can carry threats to computers in the form of viruses, worms, and Trojan horses, among others.

A good deal of the threat comes from the fact that public instant messengers don’t encrypt messages. Additionally, instant messengers allow for the sharing of any file on the user’s computer, so hackers can have access to all those files. And since instant messaging is a relatively new technology, PC security software has not been designed to combat many IM threats. There are several ways hackers can take advantage of these attributes of IM and cause mischief:

• Network Sniffers — These are programs that hackers use to find information online. Using sniffers, hackers can view the content of entire IM conversations and gain access to company information.
• Worms — A worm is similar to a virus in that it can infect a computer and cause problems ranging from annoying to malicious. Unlike a virus, a worm can infect a computer without any human action, such as opening a file. Worms can also multiply on a single computer and send themselves to other computers using the same server.
• Backdoor Trojan Horses — A Trojan horse appears to the victim as a safe file or program, and once it is opened, the hacker can create a backdoor, allowing access to the victim’s computer along with all their files and saved passwords. Classic Trojan horse programs are usually blocked by firewalls, but Trojans sent via instant messages aren’t blocked because the IM user appears to have given permission for the hacker’s access.
• Impersonation — Once a hacker has access to a victim’s files, he can use this information to impersonate the victim. The hacker can send instant messages to people on the person’s buddy list and gain information from the people he contacts.

To prevent others from gaining access to company information, as well as damage to employee’s computers, it is important to have secure instant messaging. The best way to do this is to use an enterprise instant messenger like the one offered by Brosix.com, because they encrypt all IM communications. They also secure instant messaging by allowing the administration to restrict IM use to authorized users. With secure instant messaging, a business can get the benefits of instant messaging without the headaches.

A business instant messenger is a great productivity tool for any office. It will help increase the efficiency with which your business can communicate between different departments and locations. An enterprise business instant messenger client is engineered – for business use specifically – to allow IT administrators to create and monitor user accounts, not only to avoid waste but also to ensure that confidential information is not shared with the wrong parties. Here are some of the many ways that business instant messaging can be utilized in the office.

Business Instant Messenger applications available for IT management:

• Private network
• User activity log
• Contact list management
• Control of user permissions
• Free technical support
• Welcome module

Business Instant Messenger applications available for all office users:

• Instant text messaging
• Offline text messaging
• Chat history
• Voice chat
• Voice conference
• Voice mail
• Video chat
• Video conference
• File transfer
• Screenshot
• Screen sharing
• Co-browse
• Whiteboard
• Automatic updates
• User status alerts

As you can see, a business instant messenger can be very helpful in many ways for getting office tasks done, and when it comes to amazing customer service and features, Brosix.com is the way to go.

With as simple of a tool as instant message, there is no need for long conversations, delays due to emails, or even a need for scheduling a group meeting. Sending your questions through instant message will save forgetting about it later. Here are some more details on how messaging tools can be the perfect communication problem solver.

Communication Problem #1: Breaking someone else’s concentration.

With the ability to get a response in real time, instant messages are very efficient. If the receiver is in the middle of something or in the kind of deep concentration that shouldn’t be broken, he or she can reply at their own convenience.

Communication Problem #2: Long conversations.

How many co-workers have come over to your desk and asked you about your spouse, and then tells you a story for fifteen minutes? This can be curtailed by just letting them know you are in the middle of something, but want to hear all about it later. Ask them to please send it via your instant message tool.

Communication Problem #3: Forgotten questions.

How often do you forget something because you do not have the time to explain what you are trying to say in an email? Interacting through instant message resolves the problem of being too busy to send it now. Maybe you are trying to meet a deadline or just do not want to ruin your own creative flow when in the middle of a particular project. Simply quickly send the question via instant message and receive the answer immediately without breaking your concentration.

Communication Problem #4: Calling a group meeting.

Very often, you’ll find the need to call a group meeting for a general consensus or decision. With instant message, you can simply send everyone a copy of the message and ask for their responses. Or you can use the conference feature of your instant message. Just open a conference chat and everyone can give their input and feedback right away.

All of these communication problems can be solved with one tool which will save valuable company time: instant messaging. And with an instant message from Brosix.com, not only will you receive more features than most but also top security services so that you can rest easy knowing that your company is in safe hands.

A corporate messenger is designed to help you exchange information with coworkers and clients very quickly and efficiently. Instant messaging is faster than phone calls, and unlike emailing, you can get an immediate response. Still, instant messaging can easily get out of control. Quick questions sent by IM can turn into long chats, and answering messages can really break your focus. There are some simple things you can do to use IM to your best advantage.

Restrict Messages to People on Your Contact List

Adjust your privacy setting so that only people on your contact list can message you. This will keep random strangers, and other people you don’t need to talk to, from bothering you and wasting your time. But remember that when you want a new person to message you, they will have to prearrange it some other way, such as by email.

Edit Your Contact List

Restricting IM to those on your corporate messenger list won’t help if you have a hundred people on there. To really cut down on wasted time, you will need to limit contacts to those you really need to keep in touch with. Keeping it to ten or twelve people is a good rule of thumb.

Use Different IM Log-ins for Friends and Work

One way to maximize efficiency is to keep your corporate messenger for work use only. That way you will be offline to your friends while you are at work, and they won’t bother you. Your pals are probably more likely to have long chats with you than coworkers are, so this will really cut down on distractions.

Let People Know When You are Busy

When you are working on something that requires a lot of concentration, set your status as “away.” You can also add other status alerts such as “busy,” “in a meeting,” and “out to lunch.” That way people will have an idea how long they will have to wait for you to be available. Also, if you want to be available for quick questions but not long conversations, just be sure to let the other person know you don’t have time to visit when they message you.

Use Invisibility

If you need to ask someone a question, but you don’t want everyone to know you are online, just use the “invisible” setting. This setting allows you to IM one person at a time, and everyone else will still see you as offline. Someone was thinking when they invented that one!

With identity theft and corporate espionage on the rise, having instant messenger security is essential now more than ever. Hackers can use instant messaging as an unchecked doorway into any computer. Once a hacker has the “in” on one computer, the instant messaging software can be used to infect everyone in a business. Here are some ways that hackers attack a computer and how it can be prevented.

Issues

These are some reasons why instant messenger security is so important. Once a hacker gets into a computer, he or she can send a password stealing virus. This virus will steal the password and other useful information and send it back to the hacker in a variety of ways.  With account information and passwords, a hacker can hi-jack or impersonate a client or co-worker. If a hacker is successful, he or she will attack all the individuals who are allowed to send and retrieve instant messages to first victim. This is why instant messenger security is very important.  Another method that a hacker can use to steal information is through log files. Log files are created to store and send the messages through an instant messaging service. These files can be sent back to the hacker, so that he or she can access them.

Solutions

The only way to have instant messenger security is to use a secure network. There are two main features that security has, which are providing encryption and packaging the message as only for the recipient. With the packaging for recipients, the message goes from the sender to the receiver in a sterile package. This keeps hackers from identifying the parties involved and seeing the contents of the message. Messages are sent by protocol in a manner similar to how a letter is delivered. The instant messenger security also encrypted the message. This encodes the message before sending it, making it harder to read. In order for the receiver or a hacker to read the message, it will need to be decrypted. This decryption will require the use of a Rosetta stone or key. The decryption keys are always changing to provide a secure message.

This is why choosing the right IM client for your business is so vital, and why Brosix.com is the enterprise IM client for you. Brosix.com provides these instant messenger security features and much more so that your business can remain as safe as it needs to be.

IM spam may not be as big a problem as email spam right now, but it will be, and the right business IM client will help you get ahead of the spammers before it becomes a problem. IM spam will be able to carry viruses just like emails, but trying to block IM spam is hopeless because spammers can easily move to another script and start spamming again as soon as they’re caught and their site is destroyed. The key is for businesses to control their IM networks. This is why it is so important to find a business IM client who can give you the support you need.

Controllable Features

To start with, your business IM client should offer you the ability to control IM use by employees, like with the Features Control offered by Brosix.com. You could completely deny IM use to those who have no reason to use it, while some employees could be restricted to using internal IM only with others in the company. Other employees could be allowed to IM your clients. And a few people, like sales staff and tech support, would need unrestricted access.

Contact List Management

A business IM client should also offer you the ability to allow and block users. This way you can only allow employees to IM through a single, secure server like Brosix.com. Brosix lets a business choose a list of authorized users and keeps all others out, insuring that all file sharing and chatting remain within the company.

Activity Log

You may also want to keep tabs on your employees’ IM-ing activities. A top-notch business IM client will allow you to monitor in detail all IM activities, including file transfers as well as messages. If any employees are trying to sneak in some chatting unrelated to business, you’ll know about it. With Brosix.com, every voice call, chat, and file transfer is traceable so that you know exactly what your employees are up to in the IM network.

Avoid a spamming disaster via your company IM by choosing a secure business IM client such as Brosix.com who offers the right support. Just make sure that your client offers you controllable features, contact list management, and an activity log so that your IM spam blocking is effective enough to keep your employees focused and your company safe.

Brosix is a powerful, secure private enterprise instant messaging service. When your business is ready to increase information sharing security, cut out advertising and out-of-company contacts, and have the ability to manage users and permissions, then you are ready for Brosix Enterprise Instant Messaging. Brosix increases productivity focusing users solely on company business by eliminating outside contacts and distracting advertisements. Then there are all the great features – in which permissions are managed by your company’s IT administrator – such as text messaging, chat history, voice chat, video chat, file transfer, co-browse (users view the same screen), whiteboard, and many more. Brosix Enterprise Instant Messaging increases the efficiency with which your company can communicate between different departments and locations. Once you simply set up your Brosix network, implementing its use is a breeze.

Customized Set-up

Brosix maintains their own servers leaving only the administration of the enterprise instant messaging to your IT department. With the easy-to-use online administration console, they will begin setting up user IDs and permissions for each user. They can also generate a default contact list, another great advantage over each user taking the time to set up their contacts. Features can be assigned to users on an individual basis. Also available in the administration console are user activity logs, including all chats, voice calls, and file transfers.

Implementation

The following is a list of features to which users will have access, along with some tips on how to use each feature effectively within your company:

• Text messaging – ideal for simple communication between departments throughout the business day, available when users are offline as well: the message will appear next time they log on. Get a quick answer from your colleague even in the middle of a conference call.
• Chat history – chats are automatically stored so they can be referred back to as needed.
• Voice chat – make use of this feature to keep phone lines free or in cooperation with other features such as the whiteboard to clearly communicate ideas. If the recipient of your call isn’t in, you can leave a voicemail.
• Video chat – reduce traveling to other company locations for meetings by using the secure video chat feature.
• File transfer – send confidential files related to your chat session from the same console.
• Co-Browse – instead of trying to explain what you are looking at on a website, invite your coworker to a Co-Browse session. The website will be opened in a window allowing both users to see and navigate throughout the site. If one user clicks on a link, the page will change in both users’ co-browse session window.
• Whiteboard – allows you to invite another user to a whiteboard session where both can collaborate on a new design or idea. Users can modify the whiteboard simultaneously making it great for brainstorming sessions.
• Screen sharing – another incredibly helpful tool for sharing information and reducing travel time and expenses. Simply open a screen sharing session with any user in your contact list. They will be able to see your screen as you run through a presentation or upcoming project and provide immediate feedback.
• Voice conference – to complete your online meeting using Whiteboard, Co-Browse, or Screen Sharing, invite attendees to a voice conference where all can listen and speak as needed during your presentation.
• User Status – alerts other users that you are online and available, or online and busy, or away.

Using Brosix enterprise instant messaging provides so many advantages, that your company can’t go wrong with this service. Not only will inter-office communication be easier, but it will also be more secure. Download your IM package from Brosix today so that you can rest easy tomorrow knowing that your corporate communications are in safe hands.

More firms are leaning on their employees to get lean, mean, and efficient. One of the best ways to empower employees is to enable communication to flow freely through the organization. Business instant messaging has quickly become a primary communication tool in companies of all sizes.

But business instant messaging has its own risks: security and even productivity are threatened when a public instant messaging client is used, such as MSN or AOL. So a business instant messaging client is used instead – one that includes robust security and the ability to control with whom employees are chatting.

But not all business instant messaging clients have the same feature sets. Which ones form the core tools your employees need? Some of these im clients only offer chatting, but what about other important features?

Chatting – of course
Sure, you should make sure that your business instant messaging client has chat features. Also make sure emoticons and basic emphasis tools like bold, underline, and italics are included. These embellishments help employees communicate subtle – and not so subtle – emotions that may not always be clearly made through plain text alone.

Screen shot
The screen shot tool is quickly becoming incredibly important for support purposes. Instead of calling support staff, employees can just use the screen shot tool to send a snap shot of the problem.

Co-browsing
Another key feature is the co-browsing feature which allows employees to show each other information that is accessible through a web-browser. Since many people use different browsers – Firefox, Chrome, Opera, and IE – a co-browsing tool will make sure everybody sees the same thing.

Video and audio chat
Finally, the ability to chat by video or audio is becoming important as well. Not many companies take advantage of this feature – yet. More firms are utilizing webcams so employees can chat face-to-face; often from across the world!

Conclusion
Give employees all the tools they need. Business instant messaging goes beyond plain text. Make sure emoticons and other basic emphasis tools are available. Screen shot and co-browsing are two other features that should be available to help in times of need. Finally, video and audio chat are becoming increasingly important, so make sure your im client contains these as well.

With more and more companies using a private business instant messaging client like Brosix it’s easy to have more conversations through the IM client. The problem is that not all conversations should be had through this medium. So here are a few situations where business instant messaging may not be the right tool.

Documentation
Ever had someone commit to a deadline and you were so glad you had that email to hold them to it? Imagine if you had that conversation on your IM client and you had no way to prove the commitment. The fact is that within a company there are many mini-contracts made. If you need to document a response, make sure you have an email or signed document. Instant messaging would not be the tool of choice. Brosix does offer the ability for all conversations to be backed up, but only a system administrator will have access to these files.

Tone is escalating
Even with emoticons and carefully selected words, sometimes people get upset. If you suspect that the person on the other end is getting frustrated it’s probably time to send an email, pick up the phone, or drop by their office. Business instant messaging is for quick messages and communication. When the tone heads south it’s time to use a different method of communication.

Lots of data
We’ve all had an IM conversation where the other person was sending message after message – you couldn’t even keep up because the lines kept moving! When you have a great deal of information to pass along you should use email or physical documents. This also gives the other person the ability to easily organize and store your information without having to copy and paste it out.

Conclusion
Business instant messaging is an excellent tool in many situations, but occasionally it’s simply not the best tool for the job. Make sure you are using the best tool for your situation. If you need to document a response, the conversation’s tone is escalating, or you have lots of data to pass along; consider other forms of communication like email, phone, physical documents, or even dropping by their office.