Instant messaging

June 1, 2004
AFTER employees at Truman Arnold Companies (TAC), Texarkana TX, adopted instant messaging on their own, the company implemented Akonix L7 Enterprise,

AFTER employees at Truman Arnold Companies (TAC), Texarkana TX, adopted instant messaging on their own, the company implemented Akonix L7 Enterprise, an enterprise-wide system to secure and manage all internal and external instant messaging.

“L7 Enterprise's granular policy control has given us the ability to determine which employees can and cannot access instant messaging,” said Josh Lawrence, TAC senior information technology administrator.

“Knowing that our network is protected from unauthorized file transfers, malicious URLs, viruses and inappropriate content, and knowing we are meeting our corporate compliance standards while still maintaining the power of real-time communication with external partners and customers, gives TAC a tremendous competitive advantage.”

TAC, with revenue of $1.2 billion annually, has 400 employees and distributes more than 100 million gallons in petroleum products monthly, operates a trucking company, two pipeline terminals, 10 general aviation facilities, convenience stores, and a real estate and construction division.

The employees were using available consumer-grade instant messaging networks to communicate in real-time with co-workers, customers, and trading partners, according to information from Akonix.

Company management realized the value of using instant messaging in its industry, but was concerned about the security threats associated with unmanaged, unsanctioned use. In addition, TAC needed to ensure adherence to corporate compliance standards.

Rather than taking the knee-jerk reaction of trying to stop all use, the company sought a way to solve the security and compliance problems, while enabling even broader use of instant messaging across the company.

Management decided on the Akonix L7 Enterprise IM management gateway as a comprehensive solution to meet the needs. Akonix is certified to control messaging protocols across three consumer-grade networks, MSN, AOL, and Yahoo!.

In addition, Akonix provided TAC with the transparent security it needed, without causing disruption to users. Akonix also provides flexible, granular control of instant messaging use, such as blocking transfers of files for any combination of users, department or groups, and by types and size of files.

Akonix's L7 Enterprise provides a scalable solution for corporations to manage and secure employee use of instant messaging. L7 Enterprise can detect IM activity and block unauthorized use, manage users, ensure regulatory compliance and enforce corporate policies.

In addition, use of L7 Enterprise allows companies to log, audit and review records of all IM traffic to comply with relevant regulations.

About the Author

Mary Davis