IM has identity crisis, Microsoft says

"If we don't get a clearinghouse infrastructure, we are never going to get past presence and IM," he said.

Gurle's comments came as many users and industry providers alike have begun dreaming of all the potential uses of IM, for video conferencing, and tight integration between applications and people, for example.

But Gurle said he believes that the technology has even more potential, and could turn the communications market on its head, if done right.

According to the executive, IT buyers are getting smarter and their demands will shape the industry. It is up to service providers to reconfigure their business models to keep up with this changing market, he said.

"Current service providers are struggling with their business model, offering all sorts of networks, but what is their soul," Gurle queried.

While his answer seemed to be offering a network of people, it was unclear in what direction Microsoft will immediately move. Greenwich will roll out with multiparty chat capabilities, peer-to-peer voice and video conferencing, data collaboration, authentication, encryption, multidomain support and e-mail generation among other features. And while these capabilities are designed to solve some of the issues Microsoft sees in the market, the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant is clearly on the IM move.

How its future IM offerings fare against players like Yahoo and America Online, which are also gunning for the corporate market, remains to be seen. One thing seems certain, however, and that is that Microsoft plans to have presence.

IM Planet runs through Tuesday afternoon.