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A new study by IDC reveals how our exploding 'culture of connectivity' is forcing enterprises to change the way they operate or risk being left behind.
A lot has has been written lately about hyperconnectivity - the ability to connect through multiple devices everywhere all the time, ideally across one network - and our obsession as individuals for the latest and greatest gizmo's and applications that increasingly connect us to everything and everybody all the time. No matter where we go, or what we do - we're reachable, connected and often simply want it and even crave it.
An April 2007 Time Magazine article wrote about this new obsession in a piece entitled, "The Hyperconnected" - the idea being that our constant connectivity through cell phone calls, SMS, instant messaging, social networks, blogs, microblogs, wikis and other media has become a burdensome imposition on our peace and in some cases, sanity - just think 'crackberry'.
"Hyperconnected: Those who have fully embraced the brave new world, with 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."
This phenomenon is truly global in nature, from Boston to Beijing - more and more of us are hyperconnected in our personal lives - be it iPhones, Blackberries, MSN, QQ Messenger (China's MSN Messenger), Twitter or FaceBook - we live in a new world of hyperconnectedness.
An interesting new study by IDC "The Hyperconnected: Here They Come! " (sponsored by Nortel) finds our exploding global culture of hyperconnectivty will have a significant impact on enterprises world-wide and their IT strategies going forward. The study emphasized the pressure put to bear on enterprises and IT departments by hyperconnected users as the increasingly demand the same level of hyperconnectivity they're used to in their personal lives. Quite simply as we - namely, you and I - become increasingly interconnected in our personal lives, we're 'forcing' hyperconnectivity onto the enterprise. How your company reacts to this new social and technological phenomenon will be both the challenge and the opportunity.
IDC defines the "hyperconnected" as someone who uses at least seven communication devices(e.g. landline and cell phones, laptops, etc. ) and nine communication applications (e.g. IM, Web conferencing, and other forms of Web 2.0 information services). Does this sound like you?
The survey finds that the hyperconnected workforce is coming and those companies that properly embrace it could significantly increase their overall workforce productivity and better compete in the global marketplace of tomorrow. It will impact both business policy, IT investment and force firms to modify personnel policies, security regimes and business practices and processes. Those companies that can best embrace this new phenomenon, find creative uses to harness these technologies, as well as support their business use - including all the security, privacy and management headaches - will be best positioned to benefit from it.
Some of the study's key findings include:
The hyperconnected global workforce is exploding
- 16% the global workforce is already hyperconnected.
- As the baby boomers retire and younger workers enter the workforce, up to 40% of the workforce may be hyperconnected within the next few years.
The boundary between work and personal connectivity is increasingly becoming blurred
- Hyperconnected, tech savvy employees are increasingly communicating with work on vacation, in restaurants, during social activities, from bed and even in their place of worship!
Hyperconnectivity is a global phenomenon
- North America does not lead in its adoption. The largest % of hyperconnected users are in the Asia-Pacific and, surprisingly, the Latin American region.
- The highest levels of interconnectedness by country was found to be in China and the US, while the lowest levels were found to be in Canada and the UAE.
- While there is no single reason why one region or country has more hyperconnectd workers then another, demographics of the workforce plays a significant role and helps explain why the number of hyperconnected workers tends to be higher in emerging countries, where the workforce tends to be younger, compared to the industrialized world.
Mid-sized firms lead in its adoption
- Mid-sized firms (those with 100-2,500 employees) have double the % of hyperconnected employees compared with large or small companies. Why? Unlike smaller firms, mid-size firms invest more in technology and have significantly higher new technology adoption rates then larger firms do.
- Countries that have a large base of mid-sized companies such as China, India and Germany tend to have higher numbers of hyperconnected workers compared with countries where larger or smaller companies are the norm such as Brazil and Mexico.
Social network adoption is growing in the enterprise
- More than one in three people use social networks and online communities such as blogs, wikis, and online forums for business communication – with South American workers leading the world.
- However, personal postings to social networks and online communities are nearly three times as common as business posting.
Enterprises are struggling with disparate communications
- Nearly 20% of respondents found it hard to manage multiple disparate sources of communication.
- More than 25% said their corporate systems are slow and unreliable.
The tech and finance sectors tend to the be most hyperconnected
- Hyperconnectivity varies by industry, from 9% of respondents in healthcare to 21 and 25% in finance and high tech.
Multiple devices are the global norm
- 70% of respondents connect to the Internet at home through more than one device. In Asia Pacific that number jumps to 80%.
- Nearly 80% of 18 to 34 year olds connect to the Internet at home with more than one device.
What does this era of increased connectedness mean to you organization? What are the implications to employees, management and the enterprise?
The study also addresses the implications and impact on the enterprise and discusses some of the things companies should be thinking about as they embrace this new era.
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