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Need for cost savings
drives take-up of unified
communications
Video more effective collaboration
tool than email or phone
More than half (57%) of the
352 individuals responsible for
the implementation of Unified
Communications in businesses
stated that the recession was a major
influencing factor in their decision
to adopt UC. Nearly 80% expected
to achieve ROI on their investment
within two years, with a quarter
expecting ROI within 6 months.
The need to make general ‘cost
savings’ was cited by 57% of the
companies polled; a further 52%
also listed ‘productivity increases’ as
something they were looking to achieve;
and 42% said they were aiming to use
The study commissioned by Brother
for its video and webconferencing
solution OmniJoin analysed the
impact of video-conferencing on the
performance of two teams based
in different locations as they set
about allocating desks for an office
move and deciding how to spend the
employee health budget.
Video was found to be more effective
than the telephone or email at getting
results, providing clarity and fostering
team spirit:
n
70% of participants said they
were more willing to engage in the
discussion when video-conferencing;
n
60% said being able to see other
people and share documents live
made the discussion more open;
n
81% said that using the phone and
email to conduct a task felt divided
rather than united, whereas video-
The recession has been a major driver in the uptake of Unified
Communications (UC) within global businesses – and a
contributory factor in the decline of the deskphone, according to
a survey undertaken by Frost & Sullivan for Jabra.
As mid-size businesses cite video conferencing as a key area for future
investment (see page 5), Brother is releasing the results of research by the
Fraunhofer Institute showing that video is more effective than the telephone
or email for remote team working.
UC to ‘become more agile through
improved collaboration’.
Andrew Doyle, MD, Jabra UK
Business Solutions, says the results of
the survey clearly show that businesses
recognise Unified Communications
as an appropriate reaction to today’s
harsher financial environment and a
way to foster better, more competitive
working practices.
“What we have here is clear
evidence that businesses recognise that
implementing Unified Communications
can be a serious cost-cutting and
productivity-boosting exercise. The
productivity and cost benefits of UC,
conferencing delivered genuine
collaboration;
n
74% felt that decisions reached
through video-conferencing felt more
like joint decisions than those reached
via phone/email; and
n
79% said communication on video-
conferencing was more effective
because being able to see others helped
them to concentrate for longer.
Dr Josephine Hofmann of the Fraunhofer
Institute said: “Our study found that
video collaboration enables effective
teamwork as a genuine group process.
A majority of participants said they were
able to concentrate for longer, whereas
telephone conferences are stressful
and make them switch off. This will
have a positive impact on things like
motivation, acceptance of the decision
and willingness to contribute.”
Brother hopes that the findings will
whilst key within this economically
turbulent time, will also remain central
to business growth once the economy
stabilises and will drive smarter working
practices in the future,” he said.
More than half (56%) of respondents
said that IP telephony and PC-based
soft-clients had already generated
better communications within their
workforce, with 41% seeing more
collaboration and 36% experiencing
increased productivity as a result.
Fifty-two per cent of respondents
said they had already got rid of
company desk-phones and, of those
who hadn’t, 70% were planning to
remove them in the near future.
Headsets are the most popular
device in companies that have replaced
their deskphones. Those that have
made the transition report a number of
benefits, including having their hands
free when on calls (58%), improved
sound quality (41%) and better
engagement and collaboration with off-
site workers (26%).
The highest proportion of companies
with existing UC implementations can
be found in the UK and US (60.3% and
58% respectively).
www.jabra.com
encourage more small and medium-sized
businesses to adopt a technology that is
widely used by larger organisations and
is starting to gain penetration amongst
SMEs. IDC says that 29% of UK SMEs
already use video-conferencing, but
it expects this figure to grow to 63%
within five years.
Simon Stones, product planning
manager for Brother International
Europe, said: “The clear conclusion
from this research is that seeing really
is believing when it comes to effective
teamwork. In today’s fast-moving world,
a high-quality solution like OmniJoin
helps build trusting working relationships
quickly – by putting a face to a name
and creating a natural atmosphere.”
www.brother.co.uk/OmniJoin_
Conferencing
communications
Fifty-two per cent
of respondents
said they had
already removed
their company
desk-phones...
“
Dr Josephine Hoffmann,
Fraunhofer Institute