There has been a rapid change in terms of the way we work, collaborate and simply connect with our employees, customers, partners and suppliers.
A core component of this is a new set of connected workers who have an growing requirement to access information for decision-making, according to the sixth annual International Data Corporation (IDC) Social Business Survey.
“The major technology disruptors – mobile, cloud, big data and the Internet of Things – have become intertwined with social workflow and communications,” says Vanessa Thompson, research director: Enterprise Social Networks and Collaborative Technologies at IDC. “This will continue to have a dramatic impact on the way we get work done and ultimately how we connect with employees, customers, partners, and suppliers.”
Additional findings from the IDC survey include the following:
* Over the next 12 months, the most important business priority companies will be focusing on is promoting the company, product, and/or brand with over 23% of survey respondents noting this as the top priority. Generating revenue through direct sales will be a priority for 19% of respondents, and 14% will prioritize communicating to internal business colleagues.
* Of the 700 respondents, nearly 62% said finding experts and handling exceptions and approvals remain to be fervent organisation-wide challenges in terms of daily job responsibilities.
* Many users treat email in the same way that they do a task management system because business processes are so heavily reliant on email. With this, 31% of respondents note that the top task they perform on a smartphone is to “check” emails.
* The number of users who feel compelled to use personal file sharing and synchronisation applications not sanctioned by IT is almost parallel with those users who use and have access to some kind of IT compliant solution.