The survey consulted around 2,400 people from 17 countries and wanted to study the ‘connectedness’ of today’s businesses in terms of the use of devices and applications as well as examining the rate of growth and the impact hyperconnectivity has on enterprises.
The results of the survey indicated that 16% of the global information workforce is already hyperconnected, with 36% considering themselves to be increasingly connected. Of respondents, 20% claimed their company is passive online and the remaining 28% are barebones users.
Nortel defines hyperconnected companies as those that have more devices per capita than the other clusters and more intense use of new communications applications. They liberally use technology devices and applications for both personal and business use.
The increasingly connected companies are those who are using multiple devices and applications, but fewer than the hyperconnected. They use blogs and wikis, but they are half as likely as the hyperconnected to be involved with social networks and a third as likely to use VoIP.
The passive online cluster represents those who use even fewer devices but are beginning to experiment with some applications, like instant messaging but are not ready for more advanced Web 2.0 applications, like social networking or video conferencing over the web.
The barebones users are those who are online but pretty much stick to email, desktop access to the Internet, and mobile phone use for voice calls.
Peter Newcombe, president, carrier networks, EMEA, Nortel, told CBR that the results of the survey are a wake-up call for enterprises. Companies have to embrace hyperconnectivity. They need to accept that it’s coming, it can’t be stopped. Putting up the shutters will achieve nothing, he said.
It’s inevitable that the growth will continue. We already have 80% of people using one mobile phone for business and private use and many are also using one PC, Newcombe added.
The survey says that companies must be ready to compete in the emerging war for talent. Tomorrow’s workforce will increasingly expect to work in a hyperconnected communications environment and many will consider this a condition of employment.
Nortel estimates that the 16% currently listed as hyperconnected may soon rise to 40%. Newcombe believes that a huge change will been seen over the next five years. He said: Futurists normally talk of things 20 years down the line so people will forget what they’ve said! But with this rate of innovation, where the hyperconnected are controlling the innovation, five years is the benchmark, as technology will continue to advance.
