Many businesses are opting out of the instant messaging game early on. Even with the reported benefits of IM among companies—which may include increased productivity due to faster communications, and faster turnaround times of business processes. Some companies even use instant messaging for customer service, either through dedicated online chat support, or via staff or employees getting in touch with clients via IM (for the more tech-oriented companies, that is).
However, some companies, particularly those on the more traditional side, are opting out of this trend, even going to the extent of banning their employees outright from using instant messaging clients. Some even actively block IM software from their office firewalls. Companies argue that productivity falls because employees are tempted to go chatting rather than doing their usual work. However, in cases like these, employees are likely to look for workarounds—such as web-based IM clients that usually go through the firewalls—rather than comply.