Messaging apps have become very popular not only among consumers but also among companies as well. Whether it be WhatsApp, WeChat, Line, Viber, or others, many businesses have embraced these consumer-grade messaging apps as an integral part of their communication process with their customers, suppliers, employees, and shareholders.
According to a study by 451 Research, nearly 3 in 4 employees use consumer messaging apps for business purposes. The study also shows that 70% of employees use smartphones for business purposes and 40% say they perform work-related activities on a smartphone daily, while 58% say their companies allow the use of personal mobile phones.
Before we discuss how such platforms could affect text messaging in the workplace, let us first review in this infographic the latest features of some of the most popular messaging apps currently enjoying widespread utilization in businesses
1. WhatsApp
The Facebook-owned company is the most popular messaging app today, used by over 1.2 billion people worldwide. According to Gadgets 360, the following are the latest features of WhatsApp:
- Delete for everyone
- Snapchat-chat like status feature
- Media sharing limit increased to 30
- In-App YouTube playback
- Two-step verification
- All file type transfer
- Ability to queue messages on iPhone
- Photo bundling, video streaming, photo filter features
- Quick reply feature for iPhone, separate video call button, pinned chats
- Live location sharing
- Verified accounts for business
2. WeChat
Recently the Chinese social media app WeChat reached 1 billion users worldwide – a proof that social messaging is becoming more popular than ever. Dragonsocial highlighted the newest features of WeChat as of 2017:
- Localized advertisements
- Premium paid content
- WeChat Search
- Support of new media formats
- New partners for WeChat Mini-Programs
3. Line
This Japanese messaging app is in direct competition with WeChat, mainly because they compete on aspects and features. Host to more than 600 million active users worldwide, the latest features of Line are as follows.
- Create an exclusive Line in-app home page
- Send notifications to contacts regarding your account
- Create PR pages for coupons, raffle tickets, etc.
- Create surveys, questionnaires, polls
- Live streaming group chats
4. Viber
Viber currently has 800 million registered users and has established a strong user base in South East Asia, Latin America, and North Africa. Some of its latest features include:
- Secret chats
- Create public accounts
- E-commerce button
- Disappearing multimedia content
- One-touch video calling
Consumer Messaging Apps: Are They the Right for Your Business?
While consumer-grade messaging apps may address the mobile aspect that is critical in today’s competitive business environment, they do not provide the enterprise-level features and benefits that companies need for the long haul.
To understand how consumer messaging apps can affect the communication process in your business’ workplace, let us discuss the five differences between enterprise messaging app compared with consumer choices, and the resulting impact when scaling your business.
1. Security
Many organizations are unaware of the privacy, security, and compliance risks that they are exposed to when they allow the use of consumer messaging apps within their workplace. With the increasing number of security breaches and cyber espionage attacks against the business sector, ensuring that your company’s data is properly encrypted and securely stored must be your utmost priority.
Unfortunately, this is an area which is often overlooked by companies using consumer messaging apps. Just recently, WhatsApp users were warned about the newly discovered malware which can steal private messages and secretly record conversations.
Regulators often recognize enterprise messaging apps for the way they secure business communications. For instance, TeleMessage’s Secure Enterprise Messaging app is HIPAA, SOX, and FINRA compliant.
They also have secure sign-on mechanisms such as multi-factor authentication or the ability to connect with your single sign-on provider. With consumer apps, on the other hand, there is no way to control access or remove people from conversations after they have left your company.
Another compelling reason to choose an enterprise solution over consumer grade apps is the issue of data ownership. With enterprise messaging apps, a business owns its data whereas the opposite is true with consumer apps. If you were to deploy a consumer app, you would have no protection from policy changes which could put your company data at risk.
2. Administration
Another distinct feature of enterprise messaging apps that consumer messaging apps do not have is the provision of an administrative panel that enables companies to manage and monitor employee communications. Core capabilities include:
- Add and remove users
- Enforce policies
- Generate reports and statistics
- Create group chat
- Activedirectoryintegration
The active directory integration feature of enterprise messaging apps will enable you to integrate the app with other business tools and file-sharing programs. These integrations mean that your employees will be able to import any document they need using the app, rather than to search for it on their computer and send it via email.
3. Analytics
Using consumer messaging apps means you will not be able to track the effectiveness of your internal communications and see the areas which you can improve.
Conversely, an enterprise messaging app that comes with communications analytics will give you visibility into the internal communications in your company which then will enable you to identify bottlenecks which need to be resolved immediately.
4. Support
The ultimate differentiator that could heavily influence the effectiveness of your workplace communication is the product support that enterprise messaging apps offer. Enterprise messaging solutions such as TeleMessage provide help articles and videos on how to maximize the app and its features, as well as troubleshooting team to assist with support issues, customization, and implementation of the app.
Conclusion:
Consumer solutions are – as is its name suggests – ultimately built with consumers and not businesses in mind. Although using WhatsApp, WeChat, Line, Viber, and others over enterprise-grade apps can be alluring because of their zero subscription costs, the risks these apps pose to your company can easily outweigh their possible benefits.
To learn more about TeleMessage and our Enterprise Messaging Solutions, visit our website today at www.telemessage.com
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