Communication suits, all inclusive

IT managers need to consider more than just the messaging medium when weighing upgrade options, said Erica Driver, principal analyst at Forrester Research, reports Search VOIP.

"The discussion is no longer about just e-mail; it's an entire collaboration platform," she says.

Vendors such as Microsoft and IBM have put together communication suites that include not just e-mail, but instant messaging, social networking and collaboration tools as well.

Over the last year or two, unified communications has become more and more common, says Search Security.

As with any IT technology, the more mainstream unified communications becomes, the greater will be the need to secure it.

At present, products and mechanisms exist for securing unified communications - but unified messaging security is being largely ignored.

China's Baidu.com plans to release an instant messaging service, called "Baidu Hi", states Scientific American.

The company is in the process of recruiting additional personnel for developing the product, Baidu.com said in a statement.

All elements of Baidu Hi, including product design, research and testing, will be handled independently by the company.