The surge in communication tools used by consumers has now reached the professional environment. Applications such as WhatsApp and Telegram Messenger now offer specialized versions aimed at enhancing collaboration within businesses. Other platforms, known as corporate LAN chats, combine the immediacy of instant messaging with the necessary security and management features needed within a corporate context.
As communicating through consumer messaging becomes second nature, employees expect the same real-time experience at work. Corporate messengers replicate the simplicity of chatting with co-workers, sharing files, and video calling, while operating solely on a company’s private infrastructure. With their rise, clunky email threads and game-of-phone-tag may finally become relics of the past.
What Exactly Are Corporate Messengers?
An instant messaging application is a program used for exchanging messages, sharing files, recording voice messages, conducting video conferences, and performing other communication tasks in a professional setting. These features enable coworkers to communicate with each other promptly, engage in focused discussions as part of groups or teams, and exchange content without the need to wait for email responses. All conversations and information shared are kept securely within the organization’s network, ensuring their confidentiality and protection, as opposed to being accessible on public platforms.
Depending on the product, users can:
- Message individuals or groups in real-time
- Share files, drag-and-drop photos, videos, and other content
- Make voice and video calls
- Integrate third-party apps and services
- Search message history and shared files
- Customize notifications and availability status
- Access conversations across mobile, desktop, and web
This creates one centralized hub for team communication instead of fragmented email chains, missed calls, and searching multiple platforms.
Why Businesses Are Adopting Internal Messengers?
There are several key reasons these tools are gaining traction:
Speed – Instant messages eliminate email lags and phone tag. Questions get answered quickly between relevant parties.
Context – Conversations happen in-context, within a project channel or group chat, avoiding messy email threads.
Improved collaboration – Team members can easily share knowledge and brainstorm together in real-time or offline.
Enhanced remote work – Distributed teams can communicate and collaborate as if in one local network.
Multitasking – Lightweight chat windows enable employees to interact without disrupting workflows.
Integration – Many integrate with existing business apps like broadcast messages, file transfer, and project tools.
Analytics – Usage analytics provide insight into adoption levels and opportunities for improvement.
Cost reduction – Messaging is cheaper compared to SMS, telephony costs, and other communication expenses.
For customer-facing teams, peer-to-peer messengers also streamline external interactions. Conversations with clients happen rapidly in one place, strengthening relationships. Overall, these tools simply make business communication more efficient on both internal and external fronts.
The use cases are wide-ranging across departments:
- IT teams can quickly troubleshoot technical issues through screen sharing and video chat.
- Marketing groups can brainstorm campaign ideas in a group channel and seamlessly share copies of deliverables.
- Sales reps can receive and respond to prospect inquiries in real-time without leaving their CRM system.
- Support agents can rapidly collaborate to solve customer service tickets.
- Executives can hold online all-hands meetings with employees across multiple locations.
The list goes on. Essentially, anytime multi-way communication and collaboration is required, a network messenger simplifies the process.
Maximizing Office LAN Messenger Impact
However, simply deploying one of these platforms is not a silver bullet. Organizations should follow best practices to drive adoption and maximize benefits:
- Proper training – Provide resources and guidance to employees on effectively using the tool.
- Executive buy-in – Managers and leadership must embrace and champion the technology.
- Digital policies – Institute guidelines for expectations around response times and appropriate use.
- Change management – Clearly communicate how workflows will adjust to the new system.
- Ongoing support – Maintain an internal help resource to aid new and continuing users.
- Integrations – Connect the messenger into existing daily applications to facilitate usage.
- Analytics monitoring – Continuously analyze usage metrics and gather user feedback to refine strategies.
With proper implementation, corporate messengers become the connective tissue enabling seamless collaboration.
Key Features and Functionality
Corporate messengers share common foundational features, but may differ across some capabilities:
- Instant messaging – The core function allows users one-on-one and group chats.
- Presence indicators – Show when contacts are online/available to prevent unnecessary pings.
- Voice/video calls – Built-in VOIP capabilities replace traditional telephony needs.
- Screen sharing – Employees can broadcast their screens during calls for interactive troubleshooting.
- File sharing – Upload and share documents, images, videos and other files without clogging inboxes.
- Search – Quickly find messages, people and content.
- App integrations – Connect with everyday business tools like Office 365, Salesforce, Trello and more.
- Security controls – Sophisticated encryption, identity management and access restrictions.
- Archiving & compliance – Retain, monitor and export message data as needed for regulations.
- Custom branding – Some offer white-labeling options to align with company identity.
- APIs & bots – Provide a means to build customized chatbots and app expansions.
New capabilities are also rapidly emerging, like AI that summarizes conversations or transcribes video meetings.
Assessing Secure Platform Options
Because business communication involves delicate matters, it is essential to prioritize security when choosing a vendor. Companies should seek providers that offer advanced access controls, encryption, and compliance features.
In addition, IT leaders need to evaluate the management and monitoring options of each platform to ensure policy adherence and prevent any misuse. The most preferable options are those that can seamlessly integrate with current identity management and access systems. It is also highly recommended to continuously audit user activities and implement content controls.
Leading Solutions
While startup players are emerging, the most prominent and secure options currently include:
- Softros LAN messenger – Chat software for a local network without the Internet.
- Microsoft Teams – Tight integration with Office 365 and other Microsoft workflow apps.
- Slack – Used by over 169,000 organizations with robust third-party integrations.
- Cisco Webex Teams – A full-featured UC platform from the web conferencing leader.
- Google Chat – Part of GSuite and interoperable with Hangouts Meet video conferencing.
- Zoom – VoIP, video meetings and messaging from the rapidly growing Zoom platform.
Many choices exist, but IT leaders should align selection with their technology stack, use cases, and security requirements.
The Bottom Line
Consumer messaging has completely overhauled personal communication. Now, corporate messengers stand to revolutionize collaboration in the workplace. By adopting these secure enterprise-grade platforms, teams communicate better and workflows become more streamlined and productive. Even though change management is crucial, the considerable long-term advantages cannot be disregarded. In a work environment where mobile devices take precedence and work is done remotely, corporate messengers offer the necessary human interaction and efficiency that businesses require to function effectively.
