Managed email specialist MessageLabs has announced plans to acquire instant messaging (IM) services provider Omnipod. The deal will result in better manageability and a lower total cost of ownership for enterprise messaging systems, the firm said.

MessageLabs will initially offer the acquired IM services as an add-on for existing managed email customers and may eventually offer an integrated service.
The deal is a "natural progression" for the company due to the recent convergence of security threats across all platforms, said MessageLabs' David Hahn.

Graham Titterington of analyst Ovum said the acquisition would enable consistent policies and centralised archiving because it will put enterprise email and IM under the control of a single managed services provider. "There is about a 70 percent overlap [in managing email and instant messaging]. So [the benefits] will be economies of scale as well as management convenience," he added.

Titterington predicted that voice over IP (VoIP) and other mobile messaging technologies such as SMS could be added to the service but that there are technical difficulties to be overcome first.

Reports show IM threats are rising. Research by the IMlogic Threat Center found there were 15 times more IM attacks this October than in the same month last year.