Instant messaging (IM) is not just a social networking tool for bored teenagers. A British study shows that while some abuse of IM is occuring in the workplace (no different than the telephone, the Web, or email), IM has some solid business benefits, including improved communications, faster decisionmaking, and better information gathering.
The article says that 62% of British businesses do not use the technology at all, suggesting that most firms lag well behind the curve in making good use of technology.