OTTAWA – An exploding “Culture of Connectivity” is forcing enterprises around the world to change the way they do business faster than ever before or risk the opportunities of hyperconnectivity passing them by, concludes a global IDC study sponsored by Nortel that was released Tuesday.
The study also found the speed of technology adoption is accelerating and impacting business policy and IT investment, while the global workforce is increasingly expecting employers to provide similar levels of “everywhere, all the time” connectivity.
The IDC study of 2,400 people across 17 countries found that 16% of workers surveyed are already “hyperconnected,” or fully embrace a world of multiple devices and intense use of new communications applications. The hyperconnected worker uses a minimum of seven devices for work and personal access plus at least nine applications like IM, text messaging, web conferencing and social networks.
The hyperconnected are closely followed by a large second group of 36% as “increasingly connected,” who use a minimum of four devices for work and personal access to six or more applications.
The study predicts that hyperconnected business users will likely rise to 40% in five years.
The countries with the highest percentage of hyperconnected respondents in the study were China and the United States. The country with the highest percentage of increased hyperconnectivity was Russia.
“The results of this study send a clear message to today’s business – the hyperconnected workforce is coming and you’d better be ready,” said John Gantz, chief research officer and senior vice president at IDC.
The study surveyed men and women of various age groups in North America, Europe, Middle East, Asia Pacific and Latin America, who work across various industries and company sizes.
Survey questions covered topics such as how many devices and applications an individual used, where they use them most frequently and at what time of day. The survey also measured respondents’ attitudes to current communications technology and assessments of how widely they adopt them for personal and business use.
