The role of big data in transforming the nature of team work and collaboration

[John Paul Williams (johnpaul-williams)]

Organizations are dealing with the challenges of retrieving and managing significant amounts of data and trying to leverage this data for insights into cost savings, competitive advantage or innovations. Transforming data into knowledge and then insights can be a challenging task. Companies are developing new environments where teams can work together on a global scale to analyze this data and develop action plans based on new insights. These new environments are changing how work and collaboration is facilitated in these leading organizations.

IDC has forecasted that: 

• Big data & analytics market will reach $125B
• Rich media analytics will at least triple in 2015
• Video, Audio, and Image analytics and search: expanding use cases in many industries

The need to collaborate over the analysis of large data sets is changing how teams need to work. Rich media analytics supports the workplace of the future where visualization, virtual teams and the velocity of information needs to be managed in a very natural way. Those of us who have been a part of high performing, innovative teams know the exhilaration of reducing time-to-market, cutting out unnecessary processes and costs resulting in the production of better products for our customers through improved collaboration. So how do we create those innovative teams, who not only vastly improve our business but also energize our workers?

To improve performance, we must collect and access knowledge in ways that help us learn and improve. There is no right way to manage this knowledge—it is more important to focus on a method that works for your group. But consider that as record keeping on paper has already given way to online databases and tools such as wikis, video collaboration supported with content displaying data in creative formats adds an even more effective, highly connected, visually oriented team technology. These teams are defining new ways of collaborating and by default are defining the workplace of the future. The collection and management of knowledge is paramount in fostering innovation, these teams are generating critical Intellectual Property (IP) by learning from mistakes, making new discoveries, and recombining existing solutions in new ways. Technology can leverage this knowledge in new ways and accelerate the deployment and return these teams generate. They are creating an environment where continuous innovation is becoming a constant, challenging the rest of the organization to keep up and evolve their business models.

It’s time for senior leaders to reevaluate the environments and tools that they are asking their innovators to use and whether they are accelerating the rate of learning and discovery in their organizations.

To learn more about how the right technology investments that will increase productivity and speed time to market, read this whitepaper and infographic.

John Paul Williams

Director Enterprise Solutions

johnpaul.williams@polycom.com