Despite Boost in Productivity and Teamwork, Survey Finds Organizations Still Challenged to Realize Full Potential of Video Collaboration
Polycom, Inc. (Nasdaq:PLCM) announced today the results of a new survey which analyzes how video collaboration solutions are being used in business today. The global study, commissioned by Polycom and conducted by Quocirca, LTD, found more than 90 percent of those who regularly use video to collaborate are experiencing higher productivity, better teamwork, financial savings and reduced travel expenses. Over 80 percent directly link their fiscal savings to making faster business decisions and improving employee work/life balance.
“Video conferencing is no exception. Moreover, increasing usage also generates more familiarity and comfort with the whole experience. Encouraging a culture of video adoption would therefore seem to benefit both the individual and the organization.”
Although the survey uncovered the many benefits of using video collaboration, barriers to broad adoption still exist. The survey found more than 50 percent of people who regularly use video rarely or never need IT to help them place a call, reinforcing the ease of use with today’s solutions. One of every two people surveyed also suggested that having more access to video would increase use. Very few organizations have broadly rolled out video to desktop and mobile users and typically have limited availability of video to the larger conference rooms.
“The value of most networking technologies tends to increase disproportionately the greater the numbers of individuals connected,” said Rob Bamforth, research and analysis house, Quocirca. “Video conferencing is no exception. Moreover, increasing usage also generates more familiarity and comfort with the whole experience. Encouraging a culture of video adoption would therefore seem to benefit both the individual and the organization.”
Forty-five percent of end users surveyed frequently use their mobile devices, such as tablets, laptops and mobile phones, to join a video conference, and 35 percent of digital natives—workers who are 25 years or younger and will define the future of work—use video frequently and from anywhere. These numbers are expected to grow as the amount of mobile devices increases and organizations continue to offer more flexible working arrangements.
“The way people work is changing. Mobility, BYOD, social and collaboration solutions like video conferencing combined with the desire to reduce real estate costs are causing businesses around the world to rethink the traditional office setting,” said Jim Kruger, Chief Marketing Officer, Polycom. “We’re seeing the measurable impact video collaboration is having, but with just a fraction of organizations around the globe using video regularly, the results of this survey illustrate its potential in any work environment and across every industry.”
Video collaboration is driving measurable results for organizations across regions and industries, and the Polycom – Quocirca survey validates video collaboration can boost productivity and fiscal savings. Specific findings for North America include:
- More than 85 percent of North American individual users, at all levels of the organization, connect with peers via video—the most of any region
- More than 90 percent of North American companies use room-based systems—the highest of any region
- Already 40 percent of North American companies use a mobile video solution—second behind Asia-Pacific
- Nearly 65 percent use virtual meeting rooms (a simple call in bridge number) to connect—second only to Europe and the Middle East
- North America has the highest use of connecting to a call via instant messaging
- 65 percent of North Americans say the technologically savvy are most likely to use video—second only to Latin America at 70 percent
To learn more about how your company can build a culture of collaboration, please visit: http://community.polycom.com/t5/The-View/Building-a-Video-Culture-Starts-with-Understanding-the-Impact/ba-p/69104
About Polycom
Polycom helps organizations unleash the power of human collaboration. More than 400,000 companies and institutions worldwide defy distance with secure video, voice and content solutions from Polycom to increase productivity, speed time to market, provide better customer service, expand education and save lives. Polycom and its global partner ecosystem provide flexible collaboration solutions for any environment that deliver the best user experience, the broadest multi-vendor interoperability and unmatched investment protection. Visit www.polycom.com or connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to learn more.
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How the Survey was Conducted:
- 800 online customer surveys were conducted
- Companies in 80 countries were interviewed
- 8 in-depth interviews were conducted
- Survey was broken into primary groupings including:
- Geographical region
- Vertical industry including
- Government
- Healthcare
- Education
- Financial
- Manufacturing
- Technology
- Professional Services
- Other (unclassified)
- Company size
- Respondent job/responsibility