While increased use of instant messaging (IM) in the enterprise, along with the proliferation of features such as file sharing and whiteboarding, make voice over IM (VOIM) an attractive option for converged communications, VOIM service providers must tackle ease-of-use and interoperability issues before the technology will become more widespread, according to the latest report published by Light Reading's Enterprise VOIP Insider, a paid research service of CMP Technology's Light Reading.

"Voice Over IM: The Next VOIP Disrupter" examines the VOIM market from the viewpoint of IM service providers, including those that currently provide VOIM services, as well as those that are developing such services for the future. It looks at the issues VOIM service providers must address for the market to succeed, including targeting a customer base, developing a recurring revenue stream, and determining the best ways to drive customer usage. The report also examines features that make VOIM a viable application, possible barriers to usage, and factors that differentiate VOIM service providers.

This report analyzes all the leading players in the IM/VOIM market, including AOL, Apple, Cerulean Studios, EarthLink, Google, ICQ, IMVU, Jabber, Meebo, Microsoft, Paltalk, SIPphone, Skype Technologies, Talkster, VoxLib, and Yahoo!.

"Just as its underlying technology -- VOIP -- has done, VOIM promises to change the way in which people communicate," notes Denise Culver, research analyst for Light Reading's Enterprise VOIP Insider and author of the report. "Not only does it bring down the price of calling, especially for international calls, but it enables people to integrate the time that they spend on video, IM, and voice chat. VOIM also provides new, interactive options that PSTN services simply can't, which makes it even more attractive to users."

There are still significant barriers to widespread adoption of VOIM services, however, including lack of interoperability between service providers. "For VOIM to succeed, service providers must work together to overcome the walled gardens they have built around their services and create true interoperability within the industry. The widespread adoption of VOIM will only suffer as service providers refuse to adopt an industry operating standard for the service while they try to develop customer relationships," Culver says.

Key findings of "Voice Over IM: The Next VOIP Disrupter" include:

• VOIM is poised to become a mainstream application that could have significant revenue repercussions for VOIP service providers
• VOIM users want one all-inclusive communications experience, spanning voice, video, messaging, and more
• There are scores of VOIM service providers in the market today, offering services in tremendously varied ways
• Certain features have emerged as must-haves; VOIM service providers are scrambling to differentiate by developing new features
• Although most VOIM providers are focused on the consumer market, the business market holds tremendous promise
• Before VOIM can succeed, interoperability must be established between different services

"Voice Over IM: The Next VOIP Disrupter" provides critical data and analysis for a range of industry participants, including:

• Enterprise users of IM services that are evaluating VOIM products and service providers
• VOIM service providers that are looking for rich and independent market analysis of this emerging market sector
• Investors needing a better understanding of the scale of opportunity that VOIM services present, and which types of companies are best positioned in the sector

"Voice Over IM: The Next VOIP Disrupter," a 13-page report in PDF format, is available as part of an annual subscription (six issues) to Light Reading's Enterprise VOIP Insider, priced at $1,295. Individual reports are available for $900.

To subscribe, or for more information, please visit: http://www.lightreading.com/entvoip. For more information about the entire line of Insider research services available from CMP Technology's Light Reading, please visit: http://www.lightreading.com/research.

Here is a sample of the Table of Contents.