A survey from Polycom has revealed how businesses are using video to ‘defy distance’.
The survey, of 1,200 c-level executives and decision makers, revealed that almost all the respondents believe video conferencing improves productivity within organisations.
More than three quarters of respondents to the survey are now using video conferencing at work and they predict that in just three years time, it will be the most preferred method of communication for office workers.
Over a third (39%) are already using or would like to use mobile devices for video calls at work.The rise in personal video is helping drive the trend, with 83% of respondents now making video calls at home – and almost half using it at least once a week.
The study also showed that laptops and desktops are the most popular devices for business video conferencing, followed by conference rooms, and mobile devices.
Looking to the future, 52% of respondents expect video to be their most preferred collaboration tool in three years followed by e-mail and voice/conference calls.
56% of video users taking part in video calls at least once a week. Interestingly, in Brazil, India and Singapore more than two-thirds of respondents use video conferencing at least once a week.
The survey also showed that video communications isn’t limited to business: 83% of respondents — and almost 90% of those in their twenties and thirties, use consumer video conferencing solutions at home today, with half using video conferencing at home at least once a week.
Jim Kruger, EVP and Chief Marketing Officer at Polycom said, "The growing popularity of video conferencing at home, especially by millennials entering the workforce, is a big driver of increased preference for and adoption of video collaboration in the workplace.
"Some key factors to making video as popular in the office as it is at home is ensuring it’s easy to use, providing a high quality connection, delivering enterprise-grade security, and participants’ willingness to accept and adapt to cultural differences as they communicate across borders. We’re seeing businesses around the world defy distance every day using video collaboration, including increasing productivity, enhancing employee engagement, improving time to market and helping to save lives."
The research, "Global View: Business Video Conferencing Usage and Trends" surveyed over 1,200 business decision makers in 12 countries; it was conducted by Redshift Research and commissioned by Polycom.
