2015 themes for collaboration technology

[Sonal Bisht (Sonal Bisht)]

The recent #PolycomChat brought the industry together for an hour long discussion on collaboration technology. Some of the themes resonated throughout the event. The main findings of the chat are presented below and were fine-tuned by our panellists, Matthew Ball, Principal Analyst at Canalys, and Ray McGroarty, EMEA Director – Industry Solutions at Polycom.

Matt: I must admit that most of the questions asked during the #PolycomChat session were quite varied. The main highlights were:

The usage of the technology

The discussion quickly shifted towards the usage of the collaboration technology, sparking the conversation about relationship building and cultural mindset. It is a general realisation that collaboration systems have to be customised not just for the business’ needs but also for its business functions and employees.

Small virtual teams

A huddle room is a small area where small teams can convene and collaborate. The traditional view is that these are the left over spaces that are often windowless, dull and uncomfortable. The modern progressive view is that it could be any space, a sofa or group of sofas with more open space where people can work.

                                             

                                             

Workplaces in the future

There is a lot of opportunity for organisations and businesses to start thinking differently to bring about the futuristic change now. Going ahead of the curve and investing in the environment of the workplaces to drive innovation can help workers to be more productive and businesses to be more innovative.

                                             

                                              

Ray: Collaboration is on my mind day in and day out. The questions from the participants of the recent #PolycomChat session encouraged me to reflect on:

The changing technology trends

The IT department is evolving and the needs of the employees are continually changing as a result of the advancements in the digitisation of work processes. The changing technology trends means that IT will have to take critical steps towards identifying when it is best to use one device compared to another, and think about the quality, security and reliability of the systems. For the users, workplace flexibility, work from anywhere and work anytime will become increasingly possible.

                                              

Video versus face-to-face collaboration

If relationship building or management is of the utmost importance then it's hard to beat face-to-face collaboration. When the speed of decision-making is the most important thing for business, then virtual collaboration is more effective. It is as simple as that!

                                               

                                              

International partnerships

Businesses are found to be increasingly international which places the relationships with the cross-border partners higher on the priority list. The greater the distance and wider the cultural or the language gap, the greater will be the benefit of the Unified Communications tools implemented by the business.