New Tools Keep IM Safe for the Enterprise, by Francis Chu, eWeek,  November 6, 2002

In the business world, corporate users can use IM as an effective business communication and project collaboration tool. But corporate users beware: IM sessions can now be monitored and audited by new tools and platforms designed to give enterprises better administrative control over IM communications in the workplace.

Government seems to be outpacing business in adoption of instant-messaging apps

While Instant Messaging may be slow to gain official acceptance in the business world, it's popping up in federal agencies.

The Bureau of Land Management, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Institutes of Health, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have recently adopted IM. Each has implemented WiredRed Software Corp.'s e/pop, an archiveable IM software suite. They join the Labor Department and several military groups and federal courts that have implemented e/pop in recent months....

Reuters launches IM for financial services industry,  IDG News Service, 10/14/02

Announced earlier this year, Reuters Messaging was developed by Reuters and Microsoft with the support of more than 30 financial institutions. The product meets the financial industry's security and regulatory compliance requirements, including storing and auditing of all messages, Reuters said in a statement.

Reuters to offer monitored IM, IDG News Service, June 20, 2002
Collaborative Technologies Critical to the Financial Industry's Development over the Next Three Years, Reuters Press Release, April 22, 2002