IDC Report Names Akonix As Security Leader in Instant Messaging Management Market; Akonix is Number One in Depth of Security and Broad Industry Deployments

Business Wire, Oct 10, 2005

SAN DIEGO -- Akonix offers Fortune 1000 companies in a wide range of industries the most secure instant messaging (IM) management solutions over any other enterprise IM management vendor, according to the leading IT market research and advisory firm, IDC.

The report, entitled "Worldwide Enterprise Instant Messaging Applications 2005-2009 Forecast and 2004 Vendor Shares," ranks Akonix as the enterprise instant messaging management leader of 'depth in security' and 'customers outside of core verticals,' and positioned the company in the leadership quadrant within the IDC Leadership Grid.

Introducing the industry's first real-time IM management gateway, Akonix has consistently focused on security since its outset. The Akonix Security Center, a collaborative effort between Akonix's internal security group, enterprise customer security teams and industry leading partners in IM infrastructure and security, tracks and protects against IM threats worldwide. Akonix has driven innovations such as public IM reflection, ensuring internal conversations over public IM never leave a corporate network, and it launched the first integrated anti-virus solution for scanning file attachments sent over IM. Akonix also provides its customers with the only dynamic IM malware, SPIM and protocol update system to automatically push updates and block worms and viruses at the network perimeter in real-time.

With the spiraling growth in IM-borne attacks, a robust set of security features is imperative for all organizations using IM for business critical communications. The Akonix Security Center team tracked the highest monthly total of new threats ever recorded, with 25 viruses identified in September 2005. In Q3 2005, the number of IM attacks averaged just over one per day, highlighting the need for organizations to secure their public and enterprise IM systems.

According to IDC, the worldwide enterprise instant messaging market, including security, compliance and management products, jumped 37% in terms of year-over-year revenue in 2004, and is expected to grow from $315 million in 2005 to $736 million in 2009. IDC predicts that the market for IM management and security will be the fastest growing segment.

"Enterprise instant messaging security solutions are critical components in today's enterprise networks, addressing security, compliance and management needs," said Robert P. Mahowald, IDC program director, Collaborative Computing. "Akonix has demonstrated its leadership in securing IM networks for organizations in a broad array of industries, and is proving to Fortune 1000 companies the power and benefits of securely managed IM."

"This report confirms Akonix's reputation that it offers the best solutions to manage security and compliance issues for instant messaging," said Peter Shaw, CEO of Akonix Systems. "The key challenge for CIOs managing IM use in the enterprise is to make sure its use is secure, compliant and well managed. Only then can organizations take advantage of the considerable business benefits that IM offers.

About Akonix

Akonix is the instant messaging (IM) security and management pioneer, enabling Global 1000 companies to deploy productive, enterprise-wide IM that is secure, compliant and managed.

Over one million global users across hundreds of organizations in the Financial Services, Telecommunications, Energy, Technology, Healthcare and Entertainment industries use Akonix solutions. Akonix's award-winning products provide the industry's only automatically-updated protection to block real-time viruses for both enterprise and public IM systems. Akonix has certified partnerships with all leading IM and presence providers including America Online(R), Microsoft, Yahoo!, Reuters, IBM, Parlano and Bloomberg.

An IM industry first, the Akonix Security Center (www.imsecuritycenter.com) provides real-time information about worms, viruses and other vulnerabilities that target IM and P2P networks. The company issues monthly and quarterly IM threat watch reports to track key trends and vulnerabilities.

For further information on the company, please visit www.akonix.com.