PALO ALTO, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 12/17/12 -- The latest study by The Radicati Group, Inc., "Instant Messaging Market, 2012-2016," offers an in-depth analysis of the Instant Messaging market. Instant Messaging (IM) solutions provide real-time communication between two or more users on a network. These solutions are increasingly blurring the line between IM and Unified Communications platforms by adding more robust voice and video chat capabilities, as well as greater mobile device functionality and social networking integration.

The study categorizes the market into four segments: Public IM Networks, Enterprise IM, IM Management and Security, and Mobile IM. The study also provides detailed user installed base and revenue market share by vendor, four-year forecasts, breakouts by region and business size, and an in-depth analysis of business use of Public IM.

This study provides an analysis of leading market players: Actiance, Apple, Bloomberg, Cisco, Facebook, Global Relay, Good Technology, Google, IBM, Microsoft, Research In Motion, Skype, Symantec, Tencent, Yahoo!, and others.

According to the study, there are over 3.1 billion Instant Messaging accounts worldwide in 2012, growing to over 3.8 billion by 2016.

To order a copy of the study, or to subscribe to our market research service, visit our website at http://www.radicati.com, or call us at (650) 322-8059.

About The Radicati Group, Inc.

The Radicati Group is a leading technology research and advisory firm focused on all aspects of email, security, email archiving, regulatory compliance, wireless technologies, web services, instant messaging, unified communications, social networking, and more. The company provides both quantitative and qualitative information, including detailed market size, installed base and forecast information on a worldwide basis, as well as detailed country breakouts.

The Radicati Group works with corporate organizations to assist in the selection of the right products and technologies to support their business needs, as well as with vendors to define the best strategic direction for their products. We also work with investment firms on a worldwide basis to help identify new investment opportunities.

The Radicati Group, Inc. is headquartered in Palo Alto, CA, with offices in London, UK.