Workshare-sponsored survey shows sharp increase in mobile and cloud platforms are changing workplace collaboration habits, presenting new challenges for IT.
The findings from a study, commissioned by Workshare, a leading provider of document collaboration software, shows that the majority (54%) of UK CIOs and IT Directors have already granted business users access to corporate documents via mobiles or tablets, or plan to within the next 12 months. The results point to an increasing demand for collaboration technologies to give users access to information on the move. The rise in mobile and cloud-based collaboration tools presents fresh challenges for IT teams responsible for safe-guarding corporate documents and systems. The survey shows that, while desktop email is the preferred collaboration tool for 71% of workers, over half (53%) say SharePoint is helping employees collaborate with colleagues, clients and
suppliers.
Despite 87% of respondents already having deployed SharePoint, with this number increasing to 92% for organisations with 3,000 or more employees, over 50% have expressed concerns. 22% of senior IT professionals are frustrated by a poor user interface, and 51% - rising to 64% in the financial sector – say it requires a high level of customisation. This presents an opportunity for integrated software tools that can reduce the level of customisation required. Limited reporting and analytics features are another sticking point for IT, according to the survey.
John Safa, vice president of engineering, Workshare, comments on the findings, “With more users requiring access to corporate documents and repositories on the move, IT are looking to reduce the time spent customising these tools to meet specific business requirements. But customisation and a poor user interface aren’t the only pain points for IT. They also face the challenge of how to extend that access to mobile and the cloud.”
“The bottom line is that collaboration technologies are being deployed to give users productivity gains. So, if they aren’t easy to use and users aren’t adopting the systems, that investment is wasted. At the end of the day these solutions are meant to help employees get their jobs done more quickly.”
“The results of this survey clearly show that IT professionals are crying out for one platform that integrates everything while remaining secure, user friendly and cost-effective. In addition to finding the right integration solution, it is also imperative that documents are secure as more access points are created. This is especially important as today’s workforce becomes increasingly mobile and uses wireless connections.”