After having enjoyed spectacular development in the consumer internet market, instant messaging (IM) is now taking hold as a key communication service in other markets as well (business, mobile).
1.
IM is changing from a stand alone application per se into a multimedia hub
• A killer app on the web, wildly popular amongst the youngest users
• Continually enhanced communication and personalisation services
• Strong interest from some ISPs as a communication hub (VoIP, webconferencing…)
• But VoIP is posing a limited threat to IM2.
Fixed IM is a strategic tool and so attracting new players
• A profitable business model impeding attempts of interoperability developments
• A market dominated and locked down by a handful of global portals (AOL, MSN, Yahoo!) and by local players in Asia (QQ, NateOn, etc…)
• A host of new entrants, both large portals (Google), communities and ISPs3.
Mobile IM poised to take off
• The first successful services in South Korea and the United States
• Failures in Europe
• Growth via necessary relationships with fixed IM portals
• Major opportunities to boost traffic and drive migration to unlimited data flat rates4.
IM as a reference collaboration tool for businesses
• A market structure already in line with professional software practices
• Integrating the presence of other collaborative tools and vertical applications
• Developing into a convergent and contextual communications interface (PC, fixed, mobile, …)5.
Close-up on markets and usage
• South Korea
• France
• USA6.
Players
• AOL
• BT
• China Telecom
• Ericsson
• Google
• IBM
• IM Logic
• Jabber
• KTF
• Microsoft
• Nokia
• Novell
• O2
• Orange
• Reuters
• RIM
• SBC
• SK Telecom
• Skype
• Sun
• Tencent (QQ)
• Tiscali
• T-Online
• Vodafone
• Wanadoo
• Verizon Wireless
• Yahoo!