With the risks posed from the growing ranks of users who regularly communicate with peers via messaging solutions today, it is timely to assess some platforms for their enterprise-grade features, the level of security and utility they provide, and their impact on user productivity and experience. VDC surveyed 219 IT decision makers responsible for overseeing messaging and collaboration software for their organization, targeting enterprise users of both BlackBerry’s and Facebook’s secure messaging solutions with an emphasis on:

• Security (archival, encryption, privacy, etc.)
• Manageability (integration with IT systems, lifecycle management and administrative/policy controls)
• Collaboration/productivity features
• User experience

VDC’s analysis included an in-depth review of product documentation as well as interviews with both BBMe and WhatsApp for Business customers from industries such as high tech, manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, government, transportation, telecommunications and education. This whitepaper details the impact of BlackBerry’s and Facebook’s enterprise messaging solutions in relation to security, workforce productivity and collaboration, as well as IT support requirements. It also assesses the strengths and weaknesses of each product and expounds on key success requirements for prospective customers of these enterprise messaging solutions.