Chapter 18 -- Administering Chat Service

[Previous] [Next]

Chapter 18

As users become more sophisticated in their use of technology, their expectations of what they should be able to do with technology increase. Online collaboration technologies, such as instant messaging, chat services, and data conferencing, are quickly becoming standard methods for business communications rather than being viewed as a novelty.

Traditional e-mail systems cannot deliver dynamic data and information transfer on demand. Most people currently use the telephone for this function. Real-time collaboration services combine the immediacy of the telephone with the functionality of e-mail without the necessity of creating a formal opening and closing to the message.

The winners in the marketplace in the next 10 years will be those that manage information well. Although producing a quality product will still be important, it will take smart information management to remain competitive. For example, at one time Microsoft had close to 1000 paper forms; now it is down to fewer than 60. By managing information electronically instead of on paper, it has saved at least $40 million annually. Using electronic forms for its 401(k) plan alone saves $1 million each year. Companies will find that they can become more competitive by reducing overhead costs through the use of electronic forms.

Real-time collaboration is a part of this overhead reduction. For instance, it allows companies to hold meetings attended by staff in widely dispersed locations, thus reducing travel expenses. In addition, the use of data conferencing allows people in different locations to work closely on a project without the need for extensive travel or relocation. And members of the sales force can use these technologies to be more responsive to their customers. Collaboration technologies offer small and large companies alike the opportunity to make quantum leaps in information management, leading to better customer service and higher profits. In this chapter, we will be focusing on Chat Service and how to administer it. The next chapter covers the highly popular instant messaging technology.

MORE INFO

---

To learn more about how Microsoft has implemented collaboration technologies to become more competitive and profitable, see Business at the Speed of Thought by Bill Gates (Warner Books, 1999).

The different collaboration services are designed for specific types of interactions. Instant messaging is meant for users who need real-time, one-to-one conversations. Chat services are available for users who need to communicate as a group in real time, such as a discussion forum. And data conferencing services allow prearranged electronic conferences at which users share multimedia information as they converse during the conference. Table 18-1 outlines the various collaboration technologies and how they are intended to be used. (Note that since conferencing is an add-on product to Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server, we will not cover it in this book.)

Table 18-1. Comparison of collaboration technologies

	Instant Messaging	Chat Service	Data Conferencing
Primary use	Instant messaging	Chat	Data conferencing
Meeting style	Closed	Open forum	Invitation only
Meeting structure	Immediate/ad hoc	Ad hoc/semistructured	Organized
Client type	Vendor-specific	Standards based	Based on T.120 standard
Client facilities	Basic	Basic	Advanced
Primary deployment	Corporate	Service provider	Corporate