AOL Beats Retreat From Enterprise IM

On Monday, AOL said it would work with IMLogic to migrate AIM Enterprise Gateway Customers to IMLogic's IM Manager.

"Going forward, we will deliver AIM Business Services directly to tens of millions of 'at work' AIM users while working with certified software partners like IMLogic to extend our reach in the enterprise IM market and meet the realtime communication needs of companies large and small," said Edmund Fish, AOL's senior vice president of desktop messaging, in a statement.

The news comes just days after Yahoo beat a similar exit from enterprise IM. Like AOL, Yahoo said it would focus on its freebie consumer offering. Yahoo is also working with partners such as Akonix Systems to find new homes for business IM users.

Just last week an AOL spokeswoman said that company had some 150 business entities on its enterprise offering. Overall, AOL claims 75 million ICQ and AIM instant messaging users.

AOL's departure leaves the field open for enterprise IM pioneer Lotus Sametime and Microsoft's Live Communications Server, observers said.