Latest collaboration tools failing to take off

Knowledge workers are sticking with what they know for global collaboration

Collaboration among knowledge workers across Europe is becoming increasingly pervasive and critical to businesses, but the adoption of enterprise 2.0 collaboration tools, such as social networks, blogs, wikis and virtual worlds, are still being largely shunned by workers, according to new research.

A report from analyst firm Forrester on behalf of Adobe, dubbed Enabling the Future of Collaboration, looked into the nature, methods and limitations of collaborative work among 3,000 knowledge workers in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the UK.

The research concluded that current tools are not meeting the needs of professionals who require the ability to work efficiently, confidently and securely together in their efforts to produce high-impact deliverables.

The vast majority (99 per cent) of respondents work collaboratively with others, and 81 per cent work with two or more people in different time zones and geographical regions.

Despite understanding the limitations of using methods such as face-to-face meetings, email attachments and phone conference calls to collaborate, many are too unsure of, or uncomfortable with, newer technologies to rely on them.

Interviewees said that problems with established practices centre around security, control of the information once it has been disseminated and the level of engagement that can be offered to recipients.

Similarly, there is a desire from these workers to explore the potential advantages of newer tools. For example, 65 per cent of respondents said they wanted faster collection of information, 49 per cent aim to reduce paper for information collection, and 44 per cent are looking for more engaging ways to collaborate.

"The survey data shows a marked propensity among knowledge workers to stick with what they know for team collaboration - email and attachments - despite the recognition of needed improvements and potentially better alternatives," said Tim Walters, senior analyst at Forrester and one of the report's authors.

"The challenge for the enterprise, therefore, is not just to provide improved collaboration solutions, but to support workers' current habits while transitioning them to new and constantly evolving ways of working."

Interestingly, there seems to be growing use of more established web-based tools. The research found that up to 15 per cent of workers use instant messaging, video/web conferencing and team collaboration sites to work more closely with others, particularly outside the business.

"The study shows that people's work habits and preferences need to be a top consideration when planning any business and IT endeavour," said Mark Wheeler, marketing director for Adobe in Northern Europe.

"The opportunity for IT experts in Europe now is to select and develop enabling solutions to satisfy enterprises' business needs and meet knowledge workers' demands.

"We believe that collaboration tools are most effective when they allow users to work in the way they want to, without requiring everyone to adopt them to be successful."

Wheeler puts this down more to the general principle that people will stick with established practices, even if they are sub-optimal, until there is a compelling reason to change, rather than any fundamental flaws with the newer technologies.

He does agree, however, that these tools will need to develop and mature over time to become increasingly appealing to these workers and further drive adoption.

As a result, Wheeler predicts that the use of these types of tools will continue to grow as the younger workers who are more comfortable using them rise through the workforce, and the evolution of the applications themselves make them increasingly attractive to workers.

The full report will be available on Abode's web site from 12 February.