IBM reports that effective communication during cyber attacks and IT incidents can significantly reduce resolution time and enhance incident management. For instance, companies can use out-of-band management (OOBM) solutions to access a secure, dedicated network infrastructure for seamless collaboration.
Secure collaboration tools focused on OOBM are necessary to help employees, customers, and leaders stay on the same page. Unfortunately, when primary networks fail, relying on inadequate and compromised platforms can exacerbate such cybersecurity incidents.
If you want to ensure uninterrupted and secure communication during a cyber crisis, in this blog post, we’ll discuss 5 out-of-band management tools that’ll help rapid incident responses and coordination.
Why are secure messaging tools critical for out-of-band management?
Reports suggest that the out-of-band authentication industry reached USD 1.5 billion in 2024. Between 2025 and 2033, this market is expected to have an 18.7% CAGR and reach USD 7.5 billion.
This sector will experience such growth due to the escalating cyberattacks and data breach threats.
Statista highlighted that 38% of CISOs considered malware, followed by DDoS attacks, a significant risk to their enterprise’s cybersecurity.
As a result, robust security and stringent compliance standards in messaging tools become a necessity. The right collaboration platforms are critical for out-of-band management because they:
- Provide independent communication channels during cyberattacks for a secure and effective incident response, reducing the risk of interception.
- Enable seamless coordination and allow real-time updates between leadership, IT, and support teams. This ensures strategic decision-making and maintains operational effectiveness during data breaches.
- Help minimize reliance on in-band communication systems and ensure continuous incident response capabilities. Out-of-band management tools facilitate crisis management and rapid information sharing.
According to Marsh, an encrypted and secure out-of-band management platform can streamline efficiency, support organizational operations, and protect essential information.
5 critical secure messaging tools for effective out-of-band management
According to Business Research Insights, the global messaging app industry will have a 9.3% CAGR between 2024 and 2032. It’ll grow from USD 26.46 billion (2023) to USD 58.91 billion (2032).
This statistic alone shows the popularity of such platforms. Even then, only a few can support exceptional out-of-band management and communication.
So, how do you find the most secure messaging apps for OOBM? Check out our curated list of the top five tools for 2025:
1. Rocket.Chat
Features
Rocket.Chat is an open-source collaboration software with a rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars on
G2. More than 12 million users across 150 countries trust this app because of the following features:
- Complete control over data and infrastructure due to granular access control, end-to-end encryption, data compliance, and sovereign AI.
- A fully customizable omnichannel interface that helps you tailor the platform to meet unique needs through effective integrations found on the Marketplace or Apps-Engine.
- Accelerated communication and collaboration with real-time chat, screen sharing, visual presentations, document exchange, file sharing, video meetings, and VoIP calls on any device for operational efficiency.
- Allows a cross-organizational secure team chat that connects departments and external partners using different communication tools.
- Role-based permissions ensure granular control over user access and other functionalities that enhance security and solidify out-of-band management.
Best for
This out-of-band management solution is built for organizations with the strictest security standards. Examples include critical infrastructure, the federal government, defense and intelligence, state and local government, and more.
Pricing Plans
Startups and large enterprises can use Rocket.Chat because of the following pricing plans:
- Starter: Free for up to 50 users.
- Pro: USD 4.60 per user per month for up to 500 users.
- Enterprise: Contact Rocket.Chat to get a custom quote.
2. Twilio
Features
Twilio is a cloud platform that empowers developers, marketers, and product owners with seamless workplace team communication and customer engagement. Over 10 million developers love this app because of the following features:
- User authentication, verification, and identity tools help keep customer accounts secure and prevent fraud.
- This messaging platform lets you send, manage, and receive multichannel text messages for proper communication management on a globally reliable platform.
- Programmable messaging in this out-of-band management platform allows users to receive and send MMS, WhatsApp messages, and SMS, along with managing message history and delivery tracking.
- Developers can use the voice APIs on Twilio to build voice experiences that can unlock ROI with AI and data, increasing customer satisfaction. Examples include features like interactive voice response, global conferencing, and call tracking.
- Video API features ensure the customizable integration of video chat capabilities using WebRTC technology.
Best for?
Twilio is best for retail, healthcare, nonprofit, and financial services industries. Developers looking to use a flexible, omnichannel communication strategy with extensive API capabilities can also use this app.
Pricing plans
Twilio has an extensive pricing plan that allows you to start for free and pay as you go.
- Alerts and notifications: USD 0.0079 per minute for SMS, Voice APIs for USD 0.0085 per minute to receive calls, Video API for USD 0.004 per minute, and SendGrid Email API for USD 19.95 per month.
- Sales and support: Studio starts at USD 0.001 per flow execution. Flex comes with 5,000 free hours or USD 150 per named user/month. The Conversations API costs USD 0.05 per active user per month.
- Verification and identity: Lookup for USD 0.01 per inbound called identification request, and Verify costs USD 0.05 per verification.
It’s best to check Twilio’s pricing page for more details.
3. Element
Features
Element is a robust team chat platform with a G2 rating of 4.2/5. The key features of this out-of-band management platform include the following:
- Decentralized control that lets users choose where to host their data. This maintains autonomy and privacy without the need for any third-party interference.
- It’s the perfect collaboration tool, as it supports video calls, file sharing, group chats, team project discussions, and more.
- It’s a secure and compliant platform that strengthens and protects critical communications. Element also offers an open-source and flexible hosting option to enable data sovereignty.
- End-to-end encryption ensures a high level of security for conversations. Only the recipient and sender get to access the message content.
- Integration with other messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Slack makes this out-of-band management platform interoperable.
Best for?
With over 125 million worldwide users, Element is suitable for privacy-conscious individuals and organizations with remote teams. The government, defense, healthcare, blue light, education, and utility sectors use this communication app.
Pricing plans
The Element pricing plans include the following:
- Business: USD 5.13 per user per month.
- Enterprise: USD 10.26 per user per month.
- Sovereign: Priced per deployment.
4. Mattermost
Features
Used by brands like Samsung and organizations like NASA, Mattermost is a powerful open-source platform. This out-of-band management software comes with the following features that aid national security, critical infrastructure, and public safety:
- Seamless operational workflow ensures checklist-based process automation that works on a shared set of platform services and channel-based communications.
- Ensures one-on-one and group messaging, searchable message history, routine task management, file sharing, and integration features.
- It comes with community-driven apps and an open API, along with a plugin framework for better enhancement and customization.
- Features like Playbooks, Channels, and Calls enable custom workflows, automation, and structured task management.
- This out-of-band management solution comes with self-hosted, multi-factor authentication and encryption-at-rest security features.
Best for?
Mattermost is great for enterprises operating in regulated industries with stringent data protection needs. Companies in the defense, critical infrastructure, global public sector, technology, manufacturing, and financial services can use this tool.
Pricing plans
This communication tool comes with the following plans to accelerate mission-critical tasks:
- Free: USD 0 for up to 50 users.
- Professional: USD 10 per user per month for up to 500.
- Enterprise: Ideal for 500+ users, but you’ll need to contact the sales team for a quote.
5. Freshchat
Features
Freshchat, a product offered by Freshworks, is an intuitive customer messaging platform. It comes with the following communication features:
- Offers customers seamless experiences across channels through email, voice, messaging, and live chat features.
- AI-driven bots allow quick self-service effortlessly across channels. Users can create and deploy these bot experiences across their websites, messaging channels, and apps.
- The unified workspace provides agents with context to help deliver solutions. Examples include past purchases, ongoing issues, conversations, and more.
- Create proactive customer journeys with this out-of-band management tool to stay ahead of issues and turn conversations into revenue-generating opportunities.
- Access customer behavior insights with team performance data to understand productivity, bot effectiveness or identify gaps in the workflow.
Best for?
This collaboration tool is best suited for businesses needing customer engagement and support efficiency. It’s ideal for eCommerce platforms and SaaS companies.
Pricing plans
Beyond the 14-day free trial, Freshchat offers the following pricing plans:
- Free: USD 0 for up to 10 agents.
- Growth: USD 19 per agent per month.
- Pro: USD 49 per agent per month.
- Enterprise: USD 79 per agent per month.
End note
Reports suggest that the average cost of a data breach was USD 4.45 million in 2023. GovTech states that 2025 will witness AI-driven scams, evolved ransomware attacks, and democratized cyberattack tools.
Organizations will keep facing increasing cybersecurity threats and the complexity of distributed networks. That’s why out-of-band enterprise communication tools have become essential for effective IT management and cyber resilience. These out-of-band management platforms offer a reliable means of maintaining collaboration, control, and communication during cyber threats.
Secure messaging and team collaboration apps like Rocket.Chat was created to enhance resilience by ensuring uninterrupted communication. It works on an open-source model that offers robust collaboration among leadership, support, and IT teams.
Even when primary systems fail, this out-of-band management solution will solidify rapid incident response and minimize downtime.
To know more, contact Rocket.Chat today!
Frequently asked questions about <anything>
- Digital sovereignty
- Federation capabilities
- Scalable and white-labeled
- Highly scalable and secure
- Full patient conversation history
- HIPAA-ready
- Secure data governance and digital sovereignty
- Trusted by State, Local, and Federal agencies across the world
- Matrix federation capabilities for cross-agency communication
- Open source code
- Highly secure and scalable
- Unmatched flexibility
- End-to-end encryption
- Cloud or on-prem deployment
- Supports compliance with HIPAA, GDPR, FINRA, and more
- Supports compliance with HIPAA, GDPR, FINRA, and more
- Highly secure and flexible
- On-prem or cloud deployment