COLLABORATIVE ADVANTAGE: ASSESSING THE VALUE OF ANY-TO-ANY CONFERENCING SOLUTIONS

COLLABORATIVE ADVANTAGE: ASSESSING THE VALUE OF ANY-TO-ANY CONFERENCING SOLUTIONS

THE NEW GENERATION OF COLLABORATION 3 IN THIS WHITE PAPER The New Generation of Collaboration 3 The Rise of the Networked Enterprise 4-5 Measuring the ROI of Collaboration Tools 6-7 Capturing Competitive Advantage 8-9 The Solutions that Make the Fully Networked Enterprise Possible 10-14 Integrating Collaboration into Everyday Business 15 The New Generation of Collaboration Over the past decades, the workplace has changed significantly. Years ago, people worked with colleagues in the same office. As issues arose, the team would meet in the conference room or at the water cooler for discussion. Today s globalized work environment is comprised of partners, peers and clients around the world. Remote employees can t always head to the boardroom to make a decision or stop by a team member s office to discuss ideas; they need the tools to be able to communicate effectively regardless of location. The power trio of mobile, Internet and social networking have changed everything about the way people connect, and collaboration tools have become business-critical. In the present, we enjoy infinite content, no barriers to entry, oneto-many communications and rapidly expanding social networks. With the development of new collaboration tools, the impromptu water-cooler conversations of the past have become instant virtual meetings, and global collaboration has become a key element of corporate success. Every company in today s world is affected by globalization, and the more globalized the business is, the more important enterprise collaboration becomes. For businesses to thrive, there needs to be an environment of constant interaction and networking -- and the tools to collaborate effectively. In the last few years, we have moved from the first generation of collaboration solutions that focused on individuals within a single company to more advanced tools that facilitate social sharing across organizations. New collaboration focuses less on documents and PCs and more on group sessions where people can interact across company and geographic boundaries to create a virtual community. The success of business is no longer measured by number standards like offices or employees. The true measure of success for businesses today is being able to make the right people available at the right time in the right way. Virtual, interactive communication has made business more personal, and these richer interactions make for a better organization. Now more than ever, a network-centric approach to business is essential for maximizing the benefits of collaboration technologies. Collaboration technology is not just a fleeting fad; it s an enduring trend that will underwrite a new era of better corporate performance.

4 THE RISE OF THE NETWORKED ENTERPRISE THE IMPORTANCE OF A NETWORK-CENTRIC APPROACH TO BUSINESS 5 The Rise of the Networked Enterprise In an era of dispersed teams and reduced is shared more readily and less hierarchically. travel budgets, it is increasingly difficult to build Collaboration across organizational silos is more trusted relationships with clients, partners and common, and tasks are more often tackled in a even colleagues. But collaborative networking project-based manner. tools are changing everything about the way professionals interact with one another. Externally networked organizations Other companies are achieving substantial A new class of business is emerging -- one benefits from interactions that spread beyond that uses collaborative technologies intensively the walls of the office by using networking to empower better communications among technologies to interact with business contacts. employees and to extend the organization s Externally networked businesses are using customer reach. This kind of company is called social technologies to increase speed to access a networked enterprise. outside experts and reduce time to market for products, but report that processes within their A network-centric approach to business organizations are less fluid than those of internally encourages employees to be part of a networked companies. continuously growing community of people, devices and information services and to Fully networked enterprises interconnect through a collaborative network to An elite group of organizations -- only 2.4 achieve optimal business performance. percent of those surveyed -- are using collaborative networking technologies in According to a 2011 survey by the McKenzie revolutionary ways. These fully networked Global Institute (MGI) of 4,200 global executives, enterprises derive very high levels of benefits three types of networked organizations are slowly from the widespread use of collaborative tools adopting collaborative tools. across the entire organization, according to the study. The integration of social technologies into Internally networked organizations day-to-day activities is high, and respondents Many companies are achieving benefits from report that conferencing tools are promoting deploying collaborative tools in employee higher levels of collaboration by helping to interactions, primarily within their own corporate break down organizational barriers that impede walls. Respondents in the MGI survey reported information flows. that collaboration tools promote significantly more flexible processes, and that information THE IMPORTANCE OF A NETWORK- CENTRIC APPROACH TO BUSINESS MGI s research suggests that collaboration tools have a very real element of you get what you put in. The study found that the network effect is at work in companies that collaborate, meaning that the more people that interact and utilize the collaboration solutions, the more the organization benefits. Researchers observed the most profound effect in fully networked enterprises where the largest numbers of people interact in many-to-many relationships. Effective collaboration begins and ends with a fully networked approach. If people aren t using the technology, it s not going to be useful. In the MGI survey, 80 percent of fully networked enterprises indicated that collaboration tools were very or extremely integrated into employees day-to-day work versus 49 percent for internally networked companies and 45 percent for externally networked enterprises. Businesses that can overcome organizational barriers and have their entire workforce leveraging the technology can form the core of entirely new business processes that can radically improve performance and have profound benefits in all areas of business. Respondents of the MGI study reported that fully networked companies enjoy the greatest number of measurable benefits from using social collaborative tools, with 74 percent indicating that collaborative tools increased speed to access knowledge and 69 percent reporting increased effectiveness of marketing in terms of brand awareness, consideration, conversion and loyalty. Companies that fully integrated collaboration tools into day-to-day business saw cost savings and efficiency gains in internal, customer-related and external communications. The implications of integrating collaborative technologies into the workplace culture are widespread. In many industries, new competitive battle lines may form between companies that use collaboration tools in sophisticated ways and companies that feel uncomfortable with new web-powered technologies. Internal Purposes Increased speed of access to knowledge Reduced communication costs Increased speed of access to internal experts Decreased travel costs Increased employee satisfaction Reduced operational costs Reduced time to market for products and services Increased number of successful innovations for new products or services

6 MEASURING THE ROI OF COLLABORATION TOOLS PRODUCTIVITY ROI 7 Customer-Related Purposes Increased effectiveness of marketing Awareness Consideration Conversion Loyalty Increased customer satisfaction Measuring the ROI of Collaboration Tools Becoming a fully networked enterprise may sound intriguing, but what can a business leader expect in terms of practical ROI? OPERATIONAL ROI Number of companies that see a positive return on their investment 80% 100% ROI payback period (in months) of collaboration investments 21 to 40 Reduced market costs Reduced support costs Reduced travel costs Reduced time to market for products and services Increased number of successful innovations for new products or services Increased revenue Partner, Supplier and External Expert Purposes Increased speed of access to knowledge Reduced communication costs Increased satisfaction of suppliers, partners and external experts Increased speed of access to external experts Reduced travel costs Reduced time to market for products and services Reduced supply chain costs Reduced product development costs Companies that adopt collaboration tools and use them both internally and externally will see a significant reduction in operational costs. Businesses that haven t already can migrate from a private branch exchange (PBX) to IP telephony to reduce infrastructure costs. Because services are delivered over the Internet and managed by the provider, the need for IT management to update technology infrastructures is eliminated. This reduces the cost, complexity and long lead times in testing before new products can be deployed, and businesses can rely on the provider s years of management experience leaving IT to focus on more pressing tech issues. Many businesses use collaboration tools to reduce travel expenses, because a large percentage of routine or regular business trips can be eliminated by communicating virtually. Historically, the main business case for collaboration tools focused on the ability to replace some business travel. The advancement of collaboration tools and the reliability of virtual meetings today have enabled employees to work remotely, thereby reducing office-space requirements. Source: 2011 Mckinsey Global Institute Survey A report conducted by Salire concluded that nearly 80 percent of companies see a positive return on their investment in collaboration technologies. Numerous important industries including financial, government, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, high tech, manufacturing and retail showed a 5-year ROI of more than 100 percent and payback periods of 21 to 40 months. PRODUCTIVITY ROI While cost savings is one way to measure the benefits of business collaboration, many companies also realize significant productivity gains by integrating a collaboration solution into its business communications. Dispersed workforces and project teams can present many challenges, making communication slow or even nonexistent between individuals residing in different locations. By adopting collaboration tools, employees have more direct access to one another. The result: decisions are made faster, projects are completed sooner and efficiency increases across the organization. Effective communication can also improve the product-development process and take time out of the sales cycle. Businesses that use enterprise collaboration tools vastly improve the spread of information about new products and services amongst employees, customers and suppliers to ensure that experts are reached and informed decisions are made. When businesses implement more efficient processes, they can get products to market faster and reduce cycle times.

8 CAPTURING THE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE CAPTURING THE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE 9 Capturing Competitive Advantage While most businesses today are using collaborative tools to generate cost savings, to improve workforce productivity, to provide employees with an appropriate work/life balance and for a wide array of additional benefits such as reducing their company s carbon footprint, they are not using collaboration tools to transform business like they could. Enterprises today are using collaboration tools to do the same things better and more efficiently -- not to do things differently. Organizations that create a culture of social interaction and full integration of networking technologies can see astonishing business gains. Research shows that fully networked from the MGI survey shows. companies can experience superior performance from the use of social technologies across key The companies in the study that were stakeholder groups, internal and external. classified as market leaders with a top-ranking industry market share Because so many businesses are missing the were also the companies with high full range of opportunities associated with levels of organizational collaboration. collaboration, the key question remains: How do the cost savings and efficiency gains that come with adopting collaboration tools translate into fundamental performance improvements? To answer this question, let s look at strategic return on investment. Even though strategic ROI is difficult to quantify in dollars, strategy is the area where business transformations occur. By integrating collaboration tools into communications, fully networked enterprises are able to do new things that would physically be impossible or prohibitively expensive without the use of collaboration. Collaboration tools help companies enter new markets, build new business models, accelerate innovation cycles and make faster, more informed decisions. These tools enable the major moves that lead to competitive advantage and reinvention of how you do business. When collaborative tools are widely adopted and integrated into employees daily workflows, these technologies can also boost a company s financial performance and market share, data The operating-margin improvements that companies reported in the study correlated positively with the percentage of employees whose use of social technologies is integrated into their day-to-day work. The study indicated that 27 percent of companies that were using collaborative tools in some way had both market share gains against competitors and higher profit margins. Fully networked enterprises that were using collaboration tools internally and externally were 50 percent more likely to fall into that highperformance group than other organizations. These findings suggest that collaboration tools could become the benchmark for more vigorous competition. How? Networked enterprises improve overall business performance by forging closer working relationships and greater involvement in customer support and product-development efforts at every level. Employees are able to collaborate across organizational silos and share information more broadly Teams can make decisions and reach internal and external experts quickly and efficiently to get projects completed faster Support teams of fully networked organizations are able to leverage collaborative tools to create more personal one-to-one relationships with their customers, encouraging a loyalty far beyond the capabilities of a traditional email or audio-only call Collaboration tools allow content sharing to verify product quality, make revisions and ensure accuracy throughout the supply chain in an instant while their competitors rely on next-day delivery of services Percentage of companies using collaborative tools in some way that report market share gains against competitors and higher profit margins 27% Likelihood of realizing market share gains and higher profit margins by using collaborative tools both internally and externally 50%

10 THE SOLUTIONS THAT MAKE THE FULLY NETWORKED ENTERPRISE POSSIBLE VIDEO CONFERENCING 11 The Solutions that Make the Fully Networked Enterprise Possible Many businesses can achieve the benefits of collaboration through an investment in unified messaging, video and web conferencing services. Selecting the right collaboration technology to enhance business processes and making meetings more efficient begins with understanding your particular organizational needs and pairing those needs with the optimal collaboration solution. UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS The majority of workers rely on multiple mediums for business communications and still experience project delays because they are unable to reach key decision makers. Unified communications brings together multiple contact capabilities to simplify the way employees connect. Unified communications merges systems, devices and applications to create a core communications platform so users no longer have to juggle multiple telephone numbers, give out their personal cell phone numbers or place calls to multiple numbers to reach the right person. UC provides a central location for all communications channels including email, fax, voicemail and messaging, which makes it easier than ever to exchange information. Unified communications is a reliable collaboration tool that helps employees stay connected. From a remote job site to a home office and back to a desk at work, unified messaging technology gives employees the versatility to communicate in a way that best suits their individual needs. Whether an employee prefers to use a desktop, laptop, smartphone or tablet, they will be equipped with the same features to get their work done efficiently and maintain a networked community. The effectiveness of consolidating communications tools can be traced both internally and externally. With UC, employees will find that they are spending more time doing productive tasks and less time waiting for colleagues to respond to their questions. Clients will find it easier to reach the right employee the first time, diminishing slow response times and project delays, and raising the bar for quality support. Momentum Messenger, Momentum s UC application, seamlessly connects people, information and teams to create a networked enterprise. Equipped with Momentum Messenger, businesses can experience streamlined operations because the platform efficiently integrates the various communications tools employees use everyday to enhance collaboration. Instant Messaging Employees can correspond with one or multiple people in instant message chat rooms, which can get questions answered quickly. Presence Presence capabilities allow employees to check the status of a coworker prior to contacting them, which helps employees determine the best time and the best way to reach one another and minimizes interruptions. Call Control Features such as Call Forwarding, Do Not Disturb and Anywhere can be controlled with the click of a button. Synchronized Preferences Information like call logs, contacts, and company directories are stored in the cloud so up-to-date data is always available as users move from one device to another. Softphone Employees can send and receive calls over the computer, rather than purchasing and using dedicated hardware. VIDEO CONFERENCING In today s globalized economy, face-toface meetings have become a prerequisite for leveraging new market opportunities. Companies understand the importance of engaging with customers and colleagues in person, but many of these meetings could be replaced with a video conferencing solution to save time and money. Video conferencing creates a conference room without walls that gives employees the anywhere access that professionals need. In the past, the primary focus of a video conferencing system was to broadcast video from one company location to another to provide more of an in-person feel than a telephone conference call. Today, systems come equipped with real-time, high-definition video and high-quality audio to enable close-up views of meeting participants from any device. When an organization is primarily focused on enhancing company meetings with face-to-face interaction, video conferencing is an excellent tool for collaboration. Video conferencing can be important for picking up on nonverbal cues that would be lost on an audio-only call. Allowing geo-dispersed teams to understand, process and collaborate using video conferencing can help employees communicate more efficiently, getting projects completed sooner.

12 VIDEO CONFERENCING CONTINUED WEB CONFERENCING 13 When video is added to a meeting, participants are more likely to stay focused, because they can be seen as well as heard. Expressions of satisfaction, concern, confusion and understanding can easily be seen and addressed, making communication more effective than a myriad of phone calls and emails. HD Video HD Momentum Video provides a high definition experience in 720p resolution, which delivers excellent detail and video clarity. No matter what device, participants will see each other clearly and communicate more effectively. WEB CONFERENCING Just because a company s workforce is together at the same office building doesn t necessarily mean they re getting work accomplished with efficiency. With the number of disorganized, inefficient meetings employees attend, productivity could be suffering regardless of being centrally located. Screen Sharing Customer service representatives can dramatically reduce time-to-resolution with remote control capabilities. Users can share desktops to quickly resolve issues. Powered by the cloud, Momentum Video enables limitless parties from anywhere in the world to connect for face-to-face interactions to support everything from visual sales calls to remote webinars. Full Interoperability As a standards-based solution, Momentum Video easily integrates with existing enterprise communications systems to deliver quality service across all networks. Video conferencing offers the simplified interoperability without A recent study by The Salary Reporter found that 47% of employees complained that meetings were the number one time-waster at the office. Deploying a web conferencing service can transform the quality of meetings and increase employees productivity both individually and on a team level. Facilitate Group Meetings Businesses can generate participation in online sessions and capture lead information. Momentum Meeting is designed to support a gathering of any size, from small, informal discussions to conferencing sessions with up to 250 attendees. Multi-Point Video Cloud video conferencing is instant and interactive, allowing remote employees to be more available and engaged. Because Momentum Video is wireless data and Wi-Fi compatible, it can be an effective solution for business travelers, on-the-go professionals and teleworkers. Fully Hosted Momentum Video is fully hosted, so there is no expensive hardware to buy, install or manage. Businesses can take advantage of Video-as-a-Service to maintain a predictable the hassle of going through the gateway. Momentum Video integrates with telepresence systems, iphone and Android, PC or Mac and IP media desk phones. Data Sharing Video conferencing makes it easy to distribute and discuss materials in a group conference. Session organizers can incorporate a presentation into a meeting with just a click. Content review capabilities in live sessions and downloadable recordings ensure information is always accessible. Web conferencing is a modern Internet-based approach to collaboration that includes video and audio components, but also encompasses a variety of features that enhance interaction through the desktop environment. An online meeting service like Momentum Meeting facilitates teamwork, partnership and collaboration among users both inside and outside of the organization through its interactive meeting features. Momentum Meeting lets presenters share content with built-in audio and video support. With these tools, employees can organize, manage and attend online meetings, webinars, sales demos, training sessions and live support calls. Training Tool Employees can engage with colleagues and clients in a virtual classroom. Web conferencing is a cost-effective learning model with the functionality to share materials and resources. Live Recording Participants that can t attend a meeting can access a recording of the session so that they can stay up-to-date on what happened, and review the same content other viewers have received. OPEX, deploy with little to no CAPEX and lower infrastructure costs. Web conferencing lets participants see the same thing at the same time, bringing groups together and ensuring that all attendees are on the same page for effective communication.

14 THE VALUE OF ANY-TO-ANY COLLABORATION INTEGRATING COLLABORATION INTO EVERYDAY BUSINESS 15 THE VALUE OF ANY-TO-ANY COLLABORATION Collaboration tools like unified messaging, video and web conferencing give employees an any-to-any experience -- the ability to collaborate anywhere, on any device, across any type of content. Momentum Messenger, Video and Meeting do just that; they transcend the limitations of device, platform and location to deliver a seamless collaboration experience. The value of collaborative tools is directly proportional to the number of connected users. It is crucial to provide employees with the tools they need to work on their own terms, in any business situation. Making collaboration tools available and easy to use is an absolute necessity to foster a fully networked enterprise. Anywhere. In order to be adopted, useful, collaborative tools must be available to users wherever they are, on whichever device they are using, on whatever network they are connected to at the time. Effective collaboration delivers the richest possible experience whether it is at home, in the office, in a hotel or at a baseball game. With the right collaboration tools, users can enjoy unified communications -- even when they move outside the office walls. Any endpoint device. Today s collaboration must support all the different endpoints and platforms people use every day, including smartphone, tablet, laptop, desktop and IP deskphone. In some cases, a user s location may determine how the meeting is conducted. When employees are in the office, they may prefer to use a deskphone, but may want to use a tablet while on the road. Alternatively, the type of meeting can determine the technology used. For a quick touch-base meeting, employees may want to use a mobile device. For process-related discussions, they may want to use a laptop. Employees need collaborative platforms with the versatility to fit any meeting situation and the functionality to help connect the right people with the right information at the right time to drive the right business decisions. Any content. Collaboration must offer access to any media type. This content includes data and voice, but also real-time video. Whether it is a meeting application on a smartphone in the airport, a telepresence meeting in the office or highquality video on a laptop at home, it is important to have a platform to quickly and efficiently receive and exchange information. Integrating Collaboration into Everyday Business Enterprise collaboration tools such as unified messaging, video conferencing and web collaboration have changed the way we approach business. By connecting dispersed team members across organizations and time zones, collaboration technology allows companies to reduce costs, accelerate time to market and transform entire industries. The importance of maintaining fully integrated collaboration is clear; falling behind in creating internal and external networks could be a critical mistake. Executives need to push their organizations toward becoming fully networked enterprises by making collaborative tools available and part of the day-to-day workflow. Businesses need to break down the barriers of organizational change and continue to drive the adoption and usage of collaboration tools. The benefits of collaborative technologies increase as they are more widely integrated into everyday business. Fully networked organizations that use collaboration tools as part of the business workflow have a more fluid exchange of information, the flexibility to deploy talent from any location and the technology to drive speedy problem solving and decision making. Enterprise collaboration brings together the right people at the right time to drive the right business decision. You have the opportunity to be an innovative collaboration leader. Now is the time to find the collaboration tools that will change the way you do business. GOMOMENTUM.COM