Executives Want More Unified Communications: BT Survey

Executives want more unified communications (UC), according to a recent survey released by BT (News - Alert).

Some 84 percent of the business executives responding said that UC, by using options such as e-mail, instant messaging, phone, telepresence and video, leads to success.

The respondents added that they wanted solutions like desktop sharing, unified messaging, video, voice-to-text services and secure cloud storage, BT showed.

In addition, they want to see combinations of Internet, landlines and mobile phones. Such technology working together leads to faster and improved decisions, better collaboration for employee groups located in different locations, and more efficiency at work.

Approximately 1,000 executives who work at large businesses in different sectors globally took part in the survey.

About 56 percent of those questioned identified slow decision-making by managers and their colleagues as a top problem. The survey showed that the typical business executive loses 134 minutes a day because of “poor communication, collaboration and information flows,” according to the Economic Times of India. The newspaper reported that this level works out to $25,000 for each “employee, working on a middle to senior management 'all in' yearly cost of $100,000.”

In addition, the survey showed as much as 25 percent of executives’ time is wasted daily because of poor communication, collaboration and information flows, and basic administration tasks.

Sixty-seven percent said improved communication technology led to better time management and 60 percent were more in control of work.

Some 58 percent of directors and general managers make more than one video call per week on average.

There is more support of UC, too, in the growing economies of Asia and Latin America than those in Europe. For instance, executives in Brazil, China and India were supportive of UC.

Thirty-seven percent of Chinese and 51 percent of Indian survey takers report they are online for work purposes after 8 pm, compared to 26 percent in the United Kingdom and 22 percent in the United States.

Younger executives are the most interested in using UC, the source said.

Many executives also reportedly “go behind the back of IT” and use Facebook or Twitter (News - Alert) for workplace collaboration. That could put corporate security at risk.

"To be successful in this economic environment, it is paramount for business leaders to make better decisions faster,” Luis Alvarez, CEO at BT Global Services (News - Alert), said in a company statement. “While some might feel more comfortable with face-to-face interactions, it is becoming very clear that a competitive advantage is at hand for those who grasp the full gamut of today's and tomorrow's communications channels. It is not just a case of buying a device or a piece of software, it is about making sure that existing investments are federated and about bringing all the tools and channels together in an effective and secure way that saves time and money.”

In related news, according to TMCnet, BT has unveiled an update to its UC portfolio.

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