Despite the extensive research and development, some observers say technology can never completely cure e-mail's ills. Economic and regulatory tools will be needed as well, they say.

"Ultimately, I believe there will be a pay-per-message type of service that charges to ensure that e-mail is spam-free," says CIO Matthew Lynch at ShopKo Stores Inc. in Green Bay, Wis. E-mail carriers will charge companies a penny or two per message and will in exchange certify those messages as legitimate, he says. Lynch also predicts "stronger legislation around this topic."

A combination of technology, policy and market measures will keep e-mail among the top of all corporate applications, most users say. "E-mail will continue to be an integral form of communication," says Matthew Marks, head of integrated user services at Aetna Inc. "The capability to quickly and easily distribute a message with an attachment -- documents, links, objects, etc. -- to a large, dispersed audience with tracking and audit cannot be matched by IM, fax or snail mail."

2. E-mail -- just one of the many communications streams in the workplace -- will become part of a "puddle," or "activity thread."

Although e-mail seems unlikely to be supplanted by alternatives, the job of the IT manager is nevertheless complicated by the emergence of other options.