By far the most inconvenient aspect of current IM solutions is that they employ proprietary protocols which are kept secret from the public. This prevents third party software developers from creating compatible IM clients that address the needs of the market. As long as the IM protocols remain secret and undiscovered, only the protocol's inventors or licensees will be able to develop client software capable of participating in an IM network. The monopolistic tendencies of current IM implementors ultimately harms consumers and prevents them from enjoying a choice of IM clients. Proprietary protocols also prevent the various instant message networks from interacting with each other.
The only solution to this problem is to establish an open, non-proprietary protocol which everyone can implement without fear of legal or financial repercussion.