Boost productivity with video collaboration

Polycom has released the results of a new survey which analyses how video collaboration solutions are being used in businesses, and how it can impact the wellbeing of employees and increase savings.

The global study, commissioned by Polycom and conducted by Quocirca, found more than 90% of those who regularly use video to collaborate are experiencing higher productivity, better teamwork, financial savings and reduced travel expenses. Over 80% directly link their fiscal savings to making faster business decisions and improving the employee work and life balance.

In the APAC region, 86% of executives and 89% of managers use video collaboration within an organisation, leading the way for other employees. 

Of those surveyed around the world, APAC leads in the use of video for executive management meetings (66%) and recruitment (30%).

Additionally across APAC, 52% of senior executives, 37% of distributed team members, and 31% of remote workers were found to have embraced the technology more than everyone else. Furthermore, over 90% of APAC companies access meetings through video room based solutions.

These numbers are set to increase, too, with 70% of those surveyed in APAC citing an increase in the use of video in day to day business.

"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," says Jim Kruger, Polycom chief marketing officer.

"We're seeing the measurable impact video collaboration is having, but with just a fraction of organisations around the globe using video regularly, the results of this survey illustrate its potential in any work environment and across every industry," says Kruger.

According to the survey barriers to broad adoption still exist. One of every two people surveyed suggested that having more access to video would increase use. Very few organisations have broadly rolled out video to desktop and mobile users, and typically have limited availability of video to the larger conference rooms, according to the survey.

Rob Bamforth, Quocirca research and analysis house, says, "The value of most networking technologies tends to increase disproportionately the greater the numbers of individuals connected."

"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 organisation."

Of those surveyed, 45% frequently use their mobile devices, such as tablets, laptops and mobile phones, to join a video conference, and 35% of digital natives (workers who are 25 years or younger) use video frequently and from anywhere.

These numbers are also expected to grow as the amount of mobile devices increases and organisations continue to offer more flexible working arrangements, the survey shows.