Circumstances and technology are changing in tandem to make text messaging an increasingly important part of an organization's communications strategy. With devices like the Sidekick [1] becoming more common, corporate IT groups are realizing that they have a significant new avenue for communicating with employees. In the wake of the tragedy at Virginia Tech, organizations are taking a more urgent look at messaging technology to meet the needs of emergency notification and communications with employees and students. Evidence is mounting that, while email can go unanswered (and unopened) for days, people respond quickly to the arrival of text messages.

For more on text messaging in urgent communications:
- Read the analysis [2] at eWeek