magazine
10
Old technology causes projects
to run late
European organisations are struggling
to adapt to the rapid evolution of
technology, new working habits and the
increasingly global nature of business,
according to a new report,
Chaos Theory
,
commissioned by cloud collaboration
pioneer Projectplace.
The pan-European survey of 1,240
project managers supported by the Project
Management Institute found that inefficient
ways of working and old technologies are
costing businesses 20 working days a year.
Email remains the main communication
method amongst teams; two-thirds of
project managers can access sensitive data
in their organisation, but only half can see
who has read, changed or downloaded a
shared document, putting sensitive data at
risk; and only half of IT departments support
employees’ use of new technologies.
The research highlights that dispersed
teams working across different geographies
and time zones struggle to work together
effectively, with over a third (37%) of
respondents citing a lack of communication
as a major headache.
One in five (19%) of all projects runs late
and 14% run over budget. Project managers
admit that if they are working on eight or
more projects, things spiral out of control,
with one in three (32%) projects delayed
and a quarter (26%) exceeding the agreed
budget.
Audio conferencing losing
ground
The European conferencing services market is undergoing
significant transformation as web and video conferencing
gain ground at the expense of audio conferencing. New
analysis from Frost & Sullivan,
European Conferencing
Services Market
, predicts that audio conferencing’s share
of the market will fall from 66% in 2013 to 51% in
2019. The total European conferencing market, including
audio, web and video, is expected to grow from $1.78
billion in 2013 to $2.58 billion in 2019.
Phone check
The average smartphone user checks their
device 221 times a day, according to a study
of 2,000 smartphone owners commissioned by
Tecmark.
Butter fingers
In the last two years, UK consumers have spent
£4.6 billion on repairs to hand held devices,
the equivalent of £78 per head. The study by
protection plan provider SquareTrade found
that more than one third (37%) of smartphone
users have damaged their phones. Of these,
half have suffererd reduced functionality as a
result, with one third unable to use some or all
of their apps. Even so, more than one quarter
(27%) of British smartphone users do not use a
protective case.
WYOD risk
UK enterprises aren’t prepared for the security
risks posed by ‘Wear Your Own Device’, warns
Accellion Inc. Its survey of IT decision-makers in
100 enterprises reveals that fewer than one in
four considers wearable technology within their
broader mobile security strategy; and just 41%
of UK enterprises currently have a BYOD policy
that can be extended to cover wearables. More
than half (53%) of IT decision-makers have yet
to consider the possible impact of wearable
tech on data security, despite the fact that 81%
acknowledge an increase in wearable devices in
the workplace could pose a security risk.
Watch this space
Juniper Research has forecast that more than
100 million smart watches will be in use
worldwide by 2019, as launches by premium
technology and non-technology brands bring
the category into mainstream consumer
consciousness. It says new capabilities like GPS
and NFC connectivity are likely to become
standard in the next few years, helping to keep
the average smart watch price above $200 until
2020 at the earliest.
Digital transformation
boosts profits
Business that succeed at digital transformation are
on average 26% more profitable than their industry
peers, so Didier Bonnet, Senior Vice-President at
Capgemini Consulting, and research scientists
GeorgeWesterman and Andrew McAfee claim in a
new book that synthesises three years of research
by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and
Capgemini Consulting.
Published by Harvard
Business Review Press,
Leading
Digital: Turning Technology
into Business Transformation
highlights how large global
companies in traditional
industries are using digital
technologies to gain a strategic
advantage.
Based on the study of
more than 400 organisations,
including Burberry, Lloyds
Banking Group, Nike and Pernod Ricard, the authors
identify the principles and practices that lead to
successful digital transformation and set out a step-by
step guide for other companies to follow.
Poor call handling rife
Less than a quarter (23%) of consumers
are satisfied with the way British
businesses handle their phone calls,
according to a study of 1,000 consumers
by TNS on behalf of PH Media Group.
MarkWilliamson, Sales and Marketing
Director of PH Media Group, said: “Poor
call handling is a constant bugbear for the
British consumer but, despite this, it appears
Britain’s businesses have still not risen to the
challenge of raising standards.
“If only 23% of customers are pleased
with the way their calls are being handled,
this means there is an even larger number
who have generated a negative perception
through bad caller experience.”
phmg.com
In Brief...
One in four users of phones like the secure
Blackphone don’t use protective cases.
