Meetings Around the World II Study Sees Advanced Collaboration Tools Changing the Way We Work

As organizations increasingly arm a global workforce with more sophisticated technology tools, their employees are changing the way they get their jobs done and are driving stronger business returns, according to a new Frost & Sullivan study released Wednesday (Oct. 14).

"Meetings Around the World II: Charting the Course of Advanced Collaboration," sponsored by Verizon and Cisco, examines how professionals in businesses and government agencies get their work done by using advanced collaboration tools such as voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), instant messaging or meeting via high-definition video or Cisco TelePresence(TM). While the study measured the impact of using collaboration technology on business performance and established a model to measure a return on collaboration, it also identified emerging business technology adoption trends and attitudes across the globe.

"While professionals overwhelmingly reported the benefits of deploying advanced IP-enabled collaboration tools for their competitive advantage, the study also uncovered interesting developments related to work life today," said Blair Crump, Verizon Business group president of worldwide sales. "We identified trends related to telework and how professionals around the world like to use technology to become more productive while meeting their goals of balancing life and work and reducing business travel."

[NOTE: To access more information about Meetings Around the World II, go to: www.verizonbusiness.com/go/meetingsaroundtheworld. To view a video discussing professionals' attitudes about collaboration, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzW8F-0kUbo.)

Collaboration Attitudes Around the World

The new study showed how collaboration tools are playing a vital role in work life today and how attitudes can vary by region. Key trends included:

    --  VoIP is leading the way for delivery of advanced communications and
        collaboration applications. IT managers, once skeptical of VoIP compared
        with traditional telephony, today are leveraging IP networking
        investments for more advanced forms of communication and collaboration
        tools. In fact, 92 percent of IT managers surveyed indicated VoIP
        quality is at least as good, if not better than, traditional wireline
        phone systems. Chinese organizations are embracing UC&C technologies,
        with 89 percent using some form of VoIP as their primary phone service.

    --  Busy professionals report collaboration technologies can help manage
        stress and strain. More than 60 percent of survey respondents around the
        world say they lead busy professional lives, with that sentiment highest
        in the U.S., followed by India and Australia. More than half of
        respondents say collaboration tools allow for greater balance between
        work and personal life and help them gain more control over their busy
        lives. More than half of professionals say communications technologies
        help them stay in the loop and keep business moving forward, allowing
        them to take advantage of opportunities as they arise, because they are
        connected wherever they go.

    --  Workers sometimes have a love-hate relationship with technology. The
        study showed professionals today want more control of their lives, with
        58 percent reporting there are times they don't want to be reached. At
        the same time, 52 percent of respondents said the new communications
        devices allow workers to gain more control in their lives. Also, almost
        half (47 percent) said they could not do without the ability to
        conference remotely.

    --  Confidence in virtual meeting technologies is growing. Some 61 percent
        see collaboration technologies as reducing the need to travel for
        business (virtually unchanged from 60 percent in 2006). More than half
        think using conferencing tools - such as an audio conferencing, Web
        conferencing or video conferencing - is a good alternative to visiting
        business contacts face-to-face. Regionally, European respondents like to
        work in the office (as opposed to working from home) and prefer
        in-person meetings and business travel over using conference calls.
        However, respondents in the Asia-Pacific region and in the U.S. see
        conferencing as a good alternative to face-to-face meetings.

    --  Telecommuting is gaining traction. Almost half (47 percent) of
        respondents report having a formal telecommuting policy in place.
        However, less than a third (27 percent) telecommute at least once a
        week, and 22 percent telecommute on a daily basis. At the same time, 61
        percent of respondents say they like to work from anywhere. The results
        show India is the most telecommuting friendly country, with 59 percent
        of its organizations having a formal telecommuting policy, and 48
        percent of its workers telecommuting daily followed by Hong Kong, with
        54 percent of its businesses having a formal policy, and 26 percent of
        its workers using it on a daily basis.  The U.S. and China are tied for
        third with 47 percent of U.S. organizations and 64 percent of Chinese
        organizations having a formal telecommuting policy, and 25 percent of
        U.S. workers and 21 percent of Chinese workers using it daily.

    --  The environment is top of mind. More than half (53 percent) say reducing
        an organization's carbon footprint and other environmental concerns are
        important factors in determining collaborative technology requirements.
        That was most prevalent in China, followed by India and Sweden.

    --  The culture of collaboration has regional personalities. While the study
        identified global trends, it also found professionals worldwide
        displayed regional differences in how they like to work. For more
        information, go to:
        http://www.verizonbusiness.com/resources/factsheets/fs_collaboration-sta
        ts-and-attitudes_en_xg.pdf.

"While advanced collaborative technology adoption can be an equalizer in helping to tear down geographic boundaries, there remain cultural differences that must be taken into account to make the most of our business interactions on a country-to-country and region-to-regional basis," said Carlos Dominguez, senior vice president with the office of chairman and CEO, Cisco. "Just as no two countries are alike, no two collaborators are alike, and we see this diversity driving innovation going forward."

Frost & Sullivan in May 2009 conducted an online survey of 3,662 Information Technology (IT) or line-of-business decision-makers in organizations in 10 countries in Asia-Pacific, Europe and the U.S. Asia-Pacific was represented by Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, and Japan and Europe was represented by France, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The survey gauged attitudes and practices within small and medium-sized businesses (50 to 999 employees) and enterprises (1,000 or more employees) in the financial services, government, health care, high technology, professional services, manufacturing and retail industries.

Verizon is a leading provider of collaboration and unified communications services, enabling organizations to conveniently and effectively collaborate, virtually anytime, anywhere, helping them improve response time and productivity without the costs and carbon emissions associated with business travel. With 30 years of experience delivering conferencing services, the company uses its global IP network to provide a wide array of advance collaboration and mobility tools to large-business and government customers around the world, including audio, video and Web conferencing; VoIP; contact center services; and managed and hosting solutions, as well as professional services capabilities.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving more than 87 million customers nationwide. Verizon's Wireline operations provide converged communications, information and entertainment services over the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network. Wireline also includes Verizon Business, which delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world. A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of more than 235,000 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of more than $97 billion. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts, high quality video and images, and other information are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web at www.verizon.com/news. To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.

SOURCE Verizon

http://www.verizon.com

Related terms: adoption, asia, australia, bandwidth, business, ceo, china, communications, conference, e-mail, entertainment, europe, executive, france, germany, government, health, hong kong, hosting, india, information technology, internet, japan, manufacturing, market, media, networking, new york, note, nyse, online, policy, president, productivity, research, retail, sales, sweden, technology, telephony, travel, video, web, wholesale, wireless, wireline