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Online File W3.7=20

ELECTRONIC MAIL (E-MAIL)

Electronic mail (e-mail) is the most-used service of the = Internet.=20 E-mail systems have been used for many years, first as an internal = medium of=20 communication. For example, IBM=92s PROFS (Professional Office System) = has enabled=20 IBM=92s employees to communicate with each other all over the world for = more than=20 25 years over private networks. Later such systems expanded to business=20 partners. With the Internet, e-mail is able to connect people in = different=20 organizations who are working on different local area networks and using = different hardware, operating systems, and communication systems. A = widely known=20 system is MSOutlook from Microsoft, which is used by millions of people=20 worldwide. People can use such e-mail systems from home or on the road, = over=20 regular telephone lines. Wireless e-mail connects remote users with = corporate=20 e-mail systems, Internet-enabled cell phones, PDAs, and paging = technology. This=20 capability allows mobile users such as salespeople and repair people to = enter=20 their corporate e-mail systems quickly, to send and receive messages, = and to=20 initiate communication in workgroups.

E-mail can be enhanced to = provide=20 valuable services. Several extensions and facilities are now being = incorporated=20 into e-mail programs. TalkToMe (talkto- me.net), for example, is = a=20 talking program that can read to you your e-mail messages (in addition = to=20 reading Web pages, documents, and reminders). Moodwatch, an extension to = the=20 Eudora e-mail application, acts as an emotion monitor that recognizes = aggressive=20 language in e-mail you are writing and informs you about it as a rating = of a=20 message before it is sent (www.eudora.com/=20 email/features/moodwatch.html). Moodwatch can also alert you to = potentially=20 offensive incoming messages.

The standard server-based e-mail = protocols=20 are Post Office Protocol (POP) and Internet Message Access Protocol = (IMAP). In=20 addition to these, many organizations are also extending the access to = their=20 e-mail systems through the Web. Such extensions enable employees to = easily=20 access e-mail using any Web browser from any computer = connected to=20 the Internet. United Airlines, for example, outsourced its corporate = messaging=20 system for easy and flexible access using any Web browser.

INSTANT MESSAGING SERVICES. Instant messaging services = allow=20 users to identify and exchange instant messages with other online users = in real=20 time. ICQ is the most popular instant messaging tool on the Internet. It = informs=20 the users who is online at any time and enables users to contact them. = ICQ=20 provides facilities such as chat, sending messages and files, and = playing games.=20 AOL=92s Instant Messenger, Microsoft=92s MSN Messenger Service, and = Yahoo Messenger=20 are some popular instant messaging services. A problem with these = services,=20 however, is that the users must use the same messaging service in order = to=20 communicate. Universal systems may be available soon. =

Messaging in=20 Wireless Environments. Messaging in wireless environments, such = as with=20 a product called i-mode (nttdocomo.com), offer access to the = Internet=20 from cellular phones. Subscribers of i-mode can send and receive e-mail, = and=20 access the Internet directly from their cellular phones. DoCoMo=92s = i-mode=20 supports m-commerce, entertainment, discovery, and collaboration (see = Chapter=20 5). Short Messages System (SMS) allows i-mode users to send short text = messages=20 (up to 160 characters, in 2002) to and from their cellular phones. Using = applications such as Instant Messaging (such as from AOL or MSN) one can = also=20 send SMS messages to cellular phones, PDAs, or pagers, from PCs or from = mobile=20 devices connected to the Internet.

SOFTWARE AGENTS IN E-MAIL SERVICES. As described earlier, = software=20 agents are programs that execute mundane tasks for the benefit of their = users.=20 E-mail agents assist users with the often time-consuming task of = managing=20 their e-mail. E-mail agents, for example, monitor what each user = routinely does=20 with his or her e-mail, and learn from those actions. When a new = situation=20 occurs, the agent analyzes the features of the situation and suggests an = action=20 to the user (read, delete, forward, or archive).

Several e-mail = agents=20 help users handle large numbers of messages. For example, American = Finance and=20 Investment, Inc. uses intelligent agents to control its e-mail flood. = This=20 application reduced the number of employees answering e-mail addressed = to the=20 corporation from four to one. (For details see Gotcher, 1997.) =

Automatic=20 e-mail distribution systems apply workflow tracking techniques to manage = the=20 flood of e-mail sent to customer support. Verizon=92s inResponse system, = for=20 example, automatically reponds to an incoming message (by email, or by = its IVR=20 system), routes the message to the appropriate internal agent or = customer=20 service representative, and tracks the agent=92s response to the = customer. Such=20 systems, known as autoresponders, are popular in automatic = response to=20 customers=92 inquiries, which is a function of Web-based call centers. A = representative vendor in this area is Adante (adante.com). (For = further=20 details on such systems see Gaskin, 1999.) Software agents also can = identify=20 junk mail and block e-mail from designated sources.

UNIVERSAL MESSAGING SYSTEMS. Universal messaging systems = enable users=20 to access their e-mail, voice mail, and fax messages from a single = number over=20 the phone or the Internet, from anywhere in the world. E-mail and fax = messages=20 can be transformed from text to speech so that users can receive them as = voice=20 messages over the phone. Users can also send messages to digital mobile = phones,=20 PDAs, and pagers. Companies such as Hermes-plus-si.com and BWcom.co.uk, = as well=20 as Bell South and Sprint, provide extensive information and products = that=20 provide access to voice mail, fax, and e-mail to subscribers through a = single=20 number.


REFERENCES FOR ONLINE FILE W3.7=20

Gaskin, J. E., =93Software Helps Manage E-Mail Flood,=94 = Interactive=20 Week, January 25, 1999.
Gotcher, R., =93AFI Turns E-Mail Deluge = into a=20 Profitable Sales Resource,=94 Infoworld, December 8, 1997.=20