While communications is not a new topic for most companies, new trends in technology and changes in workforce dynamics are forcing many businesses to re-examine their strategies. Thirty-one percent of end-user firms cite communications as a high priority, and they are clearly driving demand here since 36 percent of channel firms believe their clients place a high priority on communications.
Cloud computing and mobility are giving companies new options and possibilities for communications infrastructure and flow. Initially, cloud platforms were only viewed as a partial solution since they were not ideal for real-time communications such as voice and video. Technology improvements have changed this picture, though, with 75 percent of those firms not currently using cloud computing indicating that they would consider cloud for real-time cases.
With mobility, many companies are struggling to keep up with the influx of employee-provided devices. Seventy-two percent of companies feel that they are taking a proactive approach to mobility, but more than half of these firms say there is no direct connection to the corporate communications strategy. If mobility is being handled separately from communications, there is a much greater chance of extra work to integrate tools, lower productivity from having multiple options and data silos.
As new technology is adopted, the biggest hurdles to fully utilizing communications solutions are end-user behavior and difficulty in changing workflow. Companies have invested in a wide range of tools but see utilization dominated by tools that have a long history, such as email and phone systems or tools that get heavily utilized by employees in their personal lives, such as mobile devices.
To solve their communications issues, companies are turning to both IT and telecom firms for assistance. End-users see IT firms as the best option for cloud systems or integration, and they view telecom firms as stronger in mobility and understanding communications behavior. IT solution providers and telecom agents can provide value in tandem, with each type of firm able to address typical requests from purchasers such as end-user education, examples from similar companies and briefings on the latest technology.
CompTIA’s “Trends in Workflow Automation and Communications” study is based on an online survey conducted in October 2013 of 500 technology or business professionals (end-users) in the U.S. The channel component was conducted in April 2013 among 500 IT channel companies. The complete report is available at no cost to CompTIA members, who can access the file at www.comptia.org or by contacting [email protected].
