Companies that best incorporate collaboration into their business activities have an edge over those that don’t. That’s one of the key findings of Meetings Around the World II, a new Frost & Sullivan study of global collaboration commissioned by Verizon and Cisco. And the deeper your commitment to collaboration technology, the greater business benefits and return on your collaboration investment.

Information Network recently asked Patrice Dalianis, Product Marketing Manager at Verizon, and project manager for the Meetings Around the World II study, to tell us about the issues and trends that emerged from the research.

What was the scope of Meetings Around the World II? 
The new study stems from the original survey carried out in 2006, and extended the research into the area of advanced IP-enabled collaboration. Over 3,600 respondents in ten countries were surveyed for the new study. The respondents encompass the health care, pharmaceuticals, government, financial services, manufacturing, retail, professional services, and high tech industries.

The study targets both line of business (LOB) managers as well as IT decision makers. It offers feedback on how collaboration tools are used to improve business performance, and provides insights into the perspectives of IT leaders. It shows to what extent collaboration tools have been deployed and utilized in different industries and functional areas, as well as future deployment trends. 

What key findings regarding collaboration does Meetings Around the World II reveal? 
The survey provides compelling evidence that effective collaboration and the use of advanced IP-enabled UC&C tools brings about positive outcomes regarding competitiveness and efficiency.

Three distinct categories of collaboration technology users were identified – Basic Collaborators, Intermediate Collaborators, and Advanced Collaborators. As you might expect, Basic Collaborators were the lowest collaboration technology adopters; Advanced Collaborators utilized the most IP-enabled UC&C tools.

A “Return on Collaboration” (ROC) index was developed to quantify the value of implementing UC&C tools, and the research revealed that organizations that deploy increasingly more sophisticated collaboration tools will realize a higher rate of return on their collaboration investments.

Specifically, the study calculates there to be a return on collaboration of around $2.80 for every dollar invested by Basic Collaborators in IP and collaboration capabilities. In contrast, Advanced Collaborators surveyed saw a return of $6.30 for every dollar invested in more sophisticated UC&C systems.

Not surprisingly, the research also shows that the greatest impact of collaboration will be found in activities that typically involve large numbers of people working on all sides of a business process, such as R&D, Sales, and Marketing.

Compared with the original survey, how are attitudes toward collaboration changing? 
The clearest difference is the key finding in the 2009 survey that organizational performance improvements, or tangible returns, are clearly dependent on a company’s level of collaboration technology investment. 

In the 2006 survey only 34 percent of respondents regarded virtual meetings as an effective tool to build and maintain strong business relationships; the new survey reveals that 54 percent now share this attitude.

The new survey also reveals that the culture and structure of an organization are even more important today. To make collaboration work to its fullest potential, it’s important to have buy-in from top-level management and throughout your organization; and that your organizational structure foster open communication between your employees, customers, partners, and vendors.

Another difference between the two studies is an increase in demand for mobility in 2009. Both LOB managers and IT professionals indicate that they want to be reached wherever they may be, and they don’t want to be tethered to a desk to communicate with peers.

What other take-aways are there from Meetings Around the World II? 
With collaboration even small steps can make a difference and every little bit can help make your business more efficient and effective. 

Over 61 percent of IT business managers and IT decision makers believe collaboration technologies will reduce the need for business travel, and 55 percent think that using conferencing technologies (e.g., audio, web, or video) is a good alternative to visiting business contacts face-to-face.

Yet even though the appropriate technology is necessary for performance improvement, it is not the sole determinant for success. Having the right culture for collaboration is also important.

By implementing advanced collaboration tools together with a culture that fosters their usage, you’ll have a more agile and more productive business, capable of taking advantage of business opportunities that arise. The overwhelming conclusion is that collaboration technology can act as an agent for improvement in your business. You may not be able to afford to ignore that.

Further information
• Download our 2009 MAWII whitepaper
• Visit the Collaboration section of Think Forward
• Listen to our podcast on first-of-their-kind tools that can help you improve collaboration
• Be part of the collaboration conversation at our Collaboration blog on Think Forward
• Visit the UC&C solutions section of our public website