The way people collaborate is in the midst of an enormous shift. Whether you’re ready or not, it will impact how and where teams and employees conduct business.
In 2014 alone, global mobile data traffic grew 69% and nearly half a billion mobile devices were activated and connected. And by 2019? That traffic is expected to increase nearly tenfold. Tenfold!
Collaboration is a major driver for increased mobile usage. We’ve used chat and messaging tools to maintain personal connections for years with popular apps like FaceTime, WhatsApp, Voxer, and many others. With their success in fostering simple and straightforward communication, it was only a matter of time before these apps found their way into the business world. This “consumerization of IT” is paving the way for new breeds of business-class technology to redefine the boundaries of the workplace.
But it is more than technology fueling this shift. The way teams form and work together has changed as well. Entire functional teams may not even sit at a desk anymore, getting more done by working closely with customers, suppliers and far-flung colleagues, especially while on the go. Supporting the needs of this increasingly mobile workforce is critical. However, executing against those needs may leave you wondering where and how to start.
Aragon Measures the Market
Aragon Research took an early look at applications aimed at solving these challenges in its recent Tech Spectrum for Mobile Collaboration report. Aragon looks at the products designed to enhance teamwork and team building across the workplace ecosystem. These tools, according to Aragon, “Are making it easier for people to interact with internal and external colleagues and partners on any device, without barriers.” And by 2020, Aragon estimates that 60% of users will rely on mobile collaboration as frequently as email.
Aragon spoke to 13 providers and their customers to evaluate how the products are meeting the market’s needs. While features and capabilities within the apps vary, Aragon identifies the “leaders” as those with comprehensive strategies, products, and services that “align with industry direction and market demand.”
Leaders help to drive the market and in the majority of cases, “have a vision” for the future. Aragon positions Cisco Spark, Cisco’s platform for team communications, as a leader.
While Aragon projects mobile collaboration to become pervasive across enterprises, adoption is being driven at the team level first. In this exclusive video, Aragon highlights critical considerations for buyers including which teams to enable now and key capabilities to look for in vendor solutions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wkFfayAKtY
Empower Your Teams with Mobile Collaboration
Cisco Spark provides a simple and seamless hub for all of your teams, wherever they work. Already, product development teams at Telstra and marketing design teams at Golin are using Cisco Spark to make decisions faster, align stakeholders more easily, and consolidate communications.
Simply put, their teams now work better “on any device, without barriers.”
Successes like these are not exclusive to certain industries or specific functions. But to score them, you must be proactive in enabling your workforce. Teams will continue to become more mobile and dispersed. Without a strategy to embrace this new paradigm of working, your teams can fall behind. Don’t let this be you.
I encourage you to download and review Aragon’s Tech Spectrum Report.
Check out the various tools on the market today, including Cisco Spark. This market is just taking shape, and we want you – our customers, partners, and other users – to help us define the new way to work.
Mobile collaboration is such a priority. Not only do I find myself relying on my mobile phone more and more for collaboration while moving around. I often find myself grabbing my phone to do things while in front of my laptop! Mobile collaboration is not just about using a mobile device, but it’s about enabling mobility in people and giving them the best experience possible. When I find myself in another building and can reserve a room on-demand to join a telepresence call. That’s the workplace adapting to my mobile needs in providing me with the best experience for the tasks I have at hand.
Thanks for the article, Jens. It’s great to see Cisco leading in the mobile collaboration space. Honestly, I was not a big fan of Spark–formerly Squared–when it was first offered. Now, however, I use it all the time for quick collaboration with colleagues, partners, and customers. It is wonderful for developing new ideas and for establishing “context” leading up to formal WebEx meetings. I can’t wait to read Aragon’s Tech Spectrum Report. Thanks again.