”Ease of Communications” – On Demand EIM Solutions, a white paper from WebEx, estimates the cost of implementing an enterprise instant messaging as being quite astronomical:
"An analysis of the licensing rate structures of prominent EIM vendors as well as interviews with leading users of EIM solutions has been used to develop the TCO model and determine the average upfront and annual operating costs on a per user basis. Given the need to amortize On-Premise solutions with all their hardware and software costs, per user EIM costs are very high if the number of users is below 1,000, but they begin stabilize beyond 5,000 users. For smaller systems, upfront costs can be as high as $250 per user, while annual operating costs can be as high as $50 to 75 per user."
Call me an old-fashioned new-age Internet guy, but why would you spend that kind of money on instant messaging? Did e-mail, the phone, face-to-face communications become passé and ineffective?
Notwithstanding the tried-and-true traditional channels is instant messaging filling a void not filled by the new social media, Web 2.0 and such?
- Discussion forums?
- Blogs?
- Wikis?
- Podcasts?
- Webcasts?
- Text messaging (cell)?
- Water cooler talk?
- Cafeteria gossip?
What is the void not filled by all of the above? Can someone please set me straight and present a reasonable case argument why a business or not-for-profit organization can measurably benefit from instant messaging because all of the above are not sufficient?
Would now be the time to point out that bulk of our organizational champions and executive wizzes balk at spending $50 or $100 per employee on an intranet…?!! And they’re gonna spend that kind of money on IM?!?
IMO u d’t need IM
Not to worry though, I think the Telex is poised to make a massive comeback. Come to think of it I miss that birthday telegram I used to get from Grandma…
PS - I had an executive tell me the other day that from his perspecitve "... the Internet is nothing but a fantasy world." I like the guy actually, but the world is changing... and by the way, Happy Days was cancelled... and Chaci has an exciting future ahead. *yawn* is that coffee I smell?
