AIM's formula for success: Buddy lists, IM partnerships, and the enterprise

(The following is part of the Standard's First To Market special feature) In the world of instant messaging, few services come close to the popularity of AIM, and no one can beat AIM in terms of longevity. The communication tool was launched as a feature of the first version of the AOL dial-up service in 1989, according to AOL technology fellow Edwin Aoki.

AIM has come a long way since then. It now incorporates voice and video, and has more than 100 million users worldwide. Aside from the sheer size of its user base, continued innovation and partnerships in the enterprise IM space have allowed it to maintain its dominant position.

Aoki explains in an email interview with The Industry Standard that the service was limited in its early iteration, but received a huge boost when social features were added. "[Originally], members could send IMs to other members, but could not see who was online and free to chat," Aoki says. "In 1996, the AOL Buddy List feature launched within the AIM service to let users IM back and forth and from that point on took off like a rocket, in large part because users were able to create their own 'contact lists' and immediately see when friends and family were online."

Aoki adds that the "free to anyone" AIM service launched in May 1997. Early competitors included various Unix programs such as Talk and ICQ. The popularity of the latter program prompted AOL to acquire it in 1998 and integrate their features and buddy lists over the next several years. Other competitors include Yahoo Messenger and Windows Live Messenger. An AOL spokesperson told the Standard that the two services rank second and third respectively in terms of total number of users, with AIM dominating in the U.S.

Aoki says that part of what helped AIM gain and maintain its lead is its ease of use, which has spurred viral growth. "AIM made it easy to log on and send instant messages without having to remember user names or email addresses. AIM users simply signed up for a distinct screenname and started sending IMs. Once AIM caught on, it really spread like wildfire. It was very viral. As users started getting into it, they'd tell their friends, and then they'd tell more friends about it."

Another key reason for AIM's success is partnerships with other consumer and enterprise instant messaging tools. "We've forged connections with Apple iChat, ICQ and in the enterprise space with IM systems from Microsoft, IBM, Thomson Reuters, Jabber, and others to enable AIM users to chat [with] IM users on these services," Aoki explains.

The enterprise presence is particularly useful. Gartner analyst David Mario Smith tells The Industry Standard that AIM's large network and community of users has helped it in the enterprise space. "I do believe its network of users is its key asset," he says. "That's why the major vendors have formed federation with their enterprise IM systems to AIM. With AOL its value is in its Federation Program and Clearinghouse service which offers connections beyond its consumer base network to enterprise IM users. AOL becomes a hub, if you will, connecting multiple networks." Smith explains the difference between enterprise and consumer-grade IM is that enterprise clients are typically deployed on-premise behind a corporate firewall, while consumer applications like AIM or Yahoo Messenger are hosted in the cloud and are basically free.

A variety of other recent developments have also helped AIM maintain its lead. Through the Open AIM program launched in 2006, AOL opened up its network to enable third-parties to integrate AIM into services such as Google's Gmail, Facebook and Bebo, as well as into popular group chat services such as Meebo and eBuddy. "By way of the Open AIM program, we have opened up our messaging network further than any other instant messaging service in order to make AIM as