Chapter 8. Public IM Connectivity Scenarios

Expanding on its popularity in the business arena, a large segment of the population now uses instant messaging (IM) for casual communication outside the workplace. Today, IM is a communication means of choice, whether to communicate to business colleagues around the world or friends across the street. Instant messaging is defined as a one-to-one or many-to-many conversation carried out through a software tool. For Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 and Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2, this is the Office Communicator tool. Instant messaging enables people who are either close in proximity to each other or far away to communicate in real time by establishing communication and then typing their conversation in the Office Communicator tool.

IM is based on the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) standards discussed in Chapter 4. Because Office Communications Server 2007 R2 is also based on the IETF standards, it integrates easily with IM.

What Is Public IM Connectivity?

Public IM connectivity extends basic IM capabilities and enables Office Communications Server 2007 R2 to consolidate three of the major IM providers—AOL, Yahoo!, and MSN—into the Office Communicator client. This enables users to collect their contacts in one place and communicate with them from one consistent interface. This ability to work from one interface simplifies small tasks, such as confirming an order with a supplier, as well as complex tasks, such as handling an issue with a large partner.

For the enterprise, public IM connectivity also enables you to manage a set of communication policies by using the Office Communications Server 2007 R2 console. IM can be a difficult form of communication to manage, because users can unknowingly divulge information that they might not in other forms of communication, possibly resulting in disclosures that would violate the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), or other regulations regarding communications. A common set of policies can help an organization comply with these regulations, as well as reduce the likelihood of problems that can arise from simple mischief.

Note

Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) and the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) are two regulations that define how information is handled and protected. SOX pertains mostly to financial organizations and their providers. Most businesses are affected to some degree by SOX, because all companies handle some type of information that is ultimately governed by SOX. The act imposes specific rules on protection mechanisms for data in the company and requires that upper management (chief executive officer and chief financial officer) sign off on an annual audit performed by a certified firm or process. This audit ensures that the proper controls are in place to manage data and information and that they are properly applied.

HIPAA directly affects the health care industry but is far reaching because it also affects any entity that might have access to customer or client records. The basis of HIPAA is that patient and physician records are protected so that the information is not disclosed to someone who has no need to use that information. Specifically, data must be encrypted at rest and in motion (for example, held in a database when at rest).

This chapter explains public IM setup, configuration, management, and compliance tools that are built into Office Communications Server 2007 R2 and how those tools can maximize the features that your users are already using.

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