The State of Collaboration 2012 - HyperOffice · The business world is evolving at breakneck speed. Companies have to operate in ever-wider networks, cater ... convergence. Collaboration,

Laurie McCabe

Sanjeev Aggarwal

December 2011

1 SMB Group, Inc. © SMB Group December 2011

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The business world is evolving at breakneck speed. Companies have to operate in ever-wider networks, cater

to rapidly changing employee and customer expectations, and make sense of a dizzying array of new

technologies they need to help their businesses.

Enabling effective collaboration—both within the organization and externally—is a critical success factor.

Companies must improve their ability to collaborate internally and across a spectrum of customers, partners

and suppliers to achieve their business goals. As a result, collaboration solutions constitute one of the fastest

growing applications categories today.

However, “collaboration software” is a confusing term because collaboration is such an amorphous and far-

reaching concept. In this paper, we identify the key trends in the collaboration market and discuss the

opportunities for small and medium businesses to benefit from these solutions.

Our discussion is based on input from the 800 decision makers who took part in our 2011 SMB Collaboration

and Communications Study, with a special focus on the medium business segment (100–1,000 employees).

This study examines the attitudes, usage patterns and behaviors related to collaboration software in real

business situations. The paper also delves into the “why” of these trends, exploring the organizational benefits

behind them.

Section 1: Convergence—The Central Theme in the Collaboration Story

Even as point solutions continue to proliferate, the overarching theme in the collaboration world is

convergence. Collaboration, communications, social and mobile technologies are converging toward the trend

of unified and integrated collaboration suites (Figure 1). The growing popularity of integrated collaboration

suites, such as Google Apps, Microsoft Office 365 and HyperOffice, and the fact that individual collaboration

solutions are increasingly adding more functionality and integration are helping to fuel this trend.

The State of Collaboration 2012

Sponsored by HyperOffice

http://www.hyperoffice.com/

http://www.hyperoffice.com/



For collaboration to work

well, people must be able to

work together and share

information in a

friction-free manner.

Figure 1. The Convergence of Collaboration, Social, Communications and Mobile Solutions

Source: SMB Group, 2011 SMB Collaboration and Communications Study, September 2011

And for good reason: Using disparate collaboration tools can result in a big

headache. For collaboration to work well, people must be able to work

together and share information in a friction-free manner. A typical project may

require people within the company as well as clients to share documents,

calendar access and instant messages, and to participate in web conferencing

to ensure that the project stays on track and gets completed to everyone’s

satisfaction.

When a company uses multiple point solutions, information can easily get lost or incorrectly duplicated—

leading to errors and misunderstandings because everyone isn’t “on the same page.” Having to learn to use

different user interfaces, go to different sites to login, and remember different passwords wastes time and

frustrates users. Managing and paying for multiple solutions adds unwanted complexity and costs from an

administrative perspective. This ends up creating disorganization and inefficiencies that take a toll on

productivity and profits. Warning signs that a business may be dealing with collaboration chaos include:



When mistakes are made,

information is missing or the

right person isn’t in the loop,

companies can lose credibility

with clients, partners and

suppliers.

Bottlenecks in finding information or resources needed to get a job done

Email overload

Version control issues—such as trying to figure out which document is the most recent one, or

accidentally sending out the wrong version to a client

Mistakes made because of incorrect or outdated information

The inability to access and/or agree on what the “right” information is

Too much telephone tag—time wasted searching for phone numbers and locating people

The inability to easily track, monitor and engage in relevant social media conversations

Too many logons and passwords to keep track of for too many different tools

Time wasted because tools don’t integrate with or “talk to” each other

These problems can cause large losses in time and productivity. More

importantly, when mistakes are made, information is missing or the right

person isn’t in the loop, companies can lose credibility with clients, partners

and suppliers.



Section 2: Bringing Order to Collaboration Chaos

As a result, many SMBs are adopting integrated “collaboration suites” that combine multiple point

collaborative tools in a unified suite (Figure 2). Google Apps, Microsoft Office 365 and HyperOffice are

prominent examples.

Figure 2. The Core of the Integrated Collaboration Suite

Source: HyperOffice

The 2011 SMB Communication and Collaboration Study found that 63% of medium businesses currently use

or plan to use an integrated collaboration suite within the next 12 months (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Medium Business Use of and Plans for Integrated Collaboration Suites

Source: SMB Group, 2011 SMB Business Collaboration Study, September 2011

28%

35%

Currently use an integratedcollaboration suite

Plan to use an integrated collaborationsuite in the next 12 months



“HyperOffice has helped us be

organized and better managed. It has

all the tools we need in a structured,

consistent and simple solution. Our

efforts are somewhat seasonal and

with a high percentage of our staff

being interns, the turnover from year

to year is great. HyperOffice saves us

resources and time getting new interns

trained and contributing to the

organization.”

Tim Haley, North Shore Navigators

These businesses cited email as their top “must-have” feature in an integrated collaboration suite, followed by

document collaboration, file sharing, shared project management and contact management (Figure 4).

Figure 4. Top Must-Have Features in an Integrated Collaboration Suite

Source: SMB Group, December 2011

Survey respondents indicated that this unified approach, which provides the ability to seamlessly exchange

information between tools, yields several important benefits (Figure 5), including:

Provides easier access to more accurate, up-to-date information.

An example is the “interlinking” feature in HyperOffice. Any bit of

data may be linked with any other throughout projects, documents,

events, email records, polls, discussions, etc. This allows users to

create “mashups” and instantly access contextually related data by

transaction, client or project—a task that would require customized

integration and programming if each tool were separate.

Improves workflows. Software is not an end in itself, but is

ultimately associated with and designed to enable company

processes and workflows. If a workflow involves moving information

among multiple software tools, there are bound to be breaks and

bottlenecks. On the other hand, if tools are unified and information

seamlessly can be passed among them, workflow is improved. A

good example is management of support ticketing through

HyperOffice. Multiple aspects of support ticketing—collecting tickets



through web forms, creating tasks and setting responsibilities, and collaborating on associated

documents—can all be managed from within HyperOffice.

Saves time and money. Time and cost savings result when users don’t need to learn and switch between

applications or go digging for misplaced documents, and have ready access to the tools and information

they need to perform their jobs.

Figure 5. Key Benefits for Medium Businesses Currently Using an Integrated Collaboration Suite

Source: SMB Group, 2011 SMB Business Collaboration and Communications Study

SECTION 3: CONVERGENCE OF EMAIL AND COLLABORATION

Email and other collaboration tools are often boxed into different categories—more likely because of vendors’

vested interests than customer needs. Email is served by messaging servers such as Exchange, or a myriad of

hosted email service companies. Other collaboration solutions are often provided by separate on-premises

solutions, such as Microsoft SharePoint, or via cloud service providers, such as Intranets.com.

However, the relationship between email and collaboration tools is very intertwined. Despite some pundits’

reports of its demise, email is still the top “must-have” in an integrated collaboration suite. Information

19%

19%

23%

26%

26%

27%

29%

29%

30%

37%

37%

Fewer data entry errors and version control issues

Helps our company look more professional

Reduces email volumes and dependence on email

Easier to bring new ideas into the company dialogue

More efficient project management

Faster to find and connect to people

Reduces paper and manual processes

Provides us with more security when collaborating

Saves money and time

Improves workflows

Easier access to up-to-date, accurate information



By conducting all of their

collaborative tasks from one

place, users quickly bring in

data from anywhere in the

suite and get things

done faster.

workers still spend a majority of their time using email, and people constantly pull information from other

tools into emails—whether documents, notifications or reminders. Having email integrated with other

collaboration tools helps facilitate user adoption.

But too often, users rely on email for things they could accomplish more

effectively with other tools—loading up users’ inboxes and corporate servers.

In fact, 64% of survey respondents cited “reducing email overload” as a top

driver in their plans to use an integrated suite. By providing a single sign-on and

common interface, a suite enables workers to handle things such as task

delegation, document collaboration and discussions with greater ease and

efficiency (Figure 6). By conducting all of their collaborative tasks from one

place, users quickly bring in data from anywhere in the suite and get things

done faster. In HyperOffice, for instance, users can swiftly convert emails to

tasks, and push files directly into shared team folders.

Figure 6. Scenarios for Separate and Integrated Email and Collaboration Systems

Source: HyperOffice

Scenario 1 – Separate systems Scenario 2 - Integrated system



Although the role of email in

business is changing, email

will continue to play a key role

in the collaborative process.

Our prognosis is that although the role of email in business is changing,

email will continue to play a key role in the collaborative process.

HyperOffice was one of the earliest vendors to take this approach, bringing

its integrated email and collaboration suite to market in 2004. As vendors

such as Google Apps (Google Apps for Business), Microsoft (Office 365) and

IBM (LotusLive) bring their suites to market, the approach is becoming

mainstream. And, even document management or project management

vendors that don’t provide email as part of their collaboration suites offer

email integration.

SECTION 4: THE RISE OF SOCIAL COLLABORATION TOOLS

The runaway success of consumer-oriented social media software such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and

Digg is leading to mainstream social medial adoption in the business world. Companies are putting popular

social media tools such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and online discussion groups to work to facilitate

collaboration among employees and with customers, partners and suppliers (Figure 7). Our study revealed

that:

Instant messaging (51%), Facebook (47%) and industry-specific social media sites (45%) are leading the

adoption curve.

Respondents are most likely to adopt Twitter (22%), RSS feeds (22%), LinkedIn (20%), industry-specific

social media sites (17%), online discussion boards and forums (17%), and YouTube and other video-sharing

services (17%) in the next 12 months.



Figure 7. Top Social Tools Medium Businesses Currently Use and Plan to Use

Source: SMB Group, 2011 SMB Collaboration and Communications Study

These tools are catching on because they are:

Easy to use. Social software was initially designed for the consumer market, where usability is key. Not

only are younger workers or “millennials” already comfortable using these tools, research shows that

these tools have become mainstream across many age groups. A 2010 Pew Research Center study

indicated that half of internet users ages 50 to 64 and one-quarter of users ages 65 and older now use

social networking sites.

Geared to facilitate sharing. Because they’re easy to use and geared for many-to-many conversations, it’s

easy to share a link, a video or an article on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.

Dynamic and real time. While traditional collaboration software can be viewed as more asynchronous or

static, social software uses real-time activity streams to provide a dynamic view of information. Rather

than the user having to find data, it is “pushed” to him or her as needed—providing speed advantages.

People-centric. One-to-one connections are central to social networking—and make it easy for people to

discover other people’s interests and skills, and to follow them and connect with them. This speeds and

22%

27%

32%

32%

34%

36%

43%

45%

47%

51%

16%

22%

22%

16%

17%

20%

17%

17%

16%

15%

Flickr/other photo-sharing services

RSS (Real Simple Syndication) information feeds

Twitter/other micro blogs

Social bookmarking/tagging

YouTube/other video-sharing services

LinkedIn

Online discussion boards and forums

Industry-specific social media sites

Facebook

Instant messaging/online chat

Currently use Plan to use in next 12 months



The net-net is that

collaboration suites—whether

grounded in traditional or

social capabilities—will need

to evolve to incorporate the

best of both worlds into their

offerings to meet the needs

of different users, situations

and tasks.

facilitates knowledge sharing and the process of connecting with the people you need when you need

them.

But companies are concerned that popular public social sites aren’t secure enough to share sensitive business

information. This has spurred the entrance of business-focused social solutions such as Jive, Yammer and

Chatter, which feature activity streams and other capabilities similar to those on popular consumer sites.

However, these vendors have come to realize that although social software has many benefits, it is insufficient

in and of itself—prompting them to add traditional collaboration tools for

document sharing, project management and email integration to their

solutions.

Meanwhile, because most medium businesses indicate that some social

capabilities are “must-haves” for an integrated suite, traditional collaboration

suite vendors are adding social capabilities to their suites to keep pace with

the social trend.

The net-net is that collaboration suites—whether grounded in traditional or

social capabilities—will need to evolve to incorporate the best of both worlds

into their offerings to meet the needs of different users, situations and tasks.

Section 5: The Acceleration of Mobile Collaboration

The mobile tsunami is undeniable—driven by advances in mobile technology and our desire to get more done

anywhere, anytime and on any device. More computing power, larger screens and increased connectivity are

making mobile phones more capable than voice phones—and often as powerful as desktop PCs.

The SMB Group’s 2010 Small and Medium Business Mobile Solutions Study indicated that users are going

mobile for many reasons, chief among them to:

Stay connected and boost productivity. Workers who are traveling or workers whose jobs require them

to work outside of the office can stay connected. Respondents cited working more easily from home, the

field and other locations as the top driver for SMB mobile solution adoption.

Gain quicker access to people and information to make better, faster business decisions. Respondents

flagged this as the second most important driver for mobile solutions. Salespeople always need to keep a

step ahead of competition, and having the right information at the right time (a marketing document, a

contract form, a contact) could make or break a deal.

Improve customer service. Rounding out the top three, respondents are adopting mobile solutions to help

them respond to and resolve customer issues more quickly.



Collaboration applications—

email, calendar, contacts,

etc.—lead the mobile

application adoption curve.

Businesses are empowering users with mobile devices and services to help

them achieve these goals (Figure 8). Collaboration applications—email,

calendar, contacts, etc.—lead the mobile application adoption curve. A

whopping 92% of medium businesses have at least some employees using

collaboration tools on their phones, and 20% of medium businesses have 60%

or more of their employees using mobile collaboration applications.

Figure 8. Top Mobile Collaboration Applications for Medium Businesses

Source: SMB Group, 2010 Small and Medium Business Mobile Solutions Study

The advent and strong uptake of the Apple iPad and tablet devices are accelerating the mobile trend. Today,

businesses see mobile computing as central—instead of auxiliary—to getting the job done. And, as more

employees bring their own devices (BYOD) to work, SMBs need to make sure that their collaboration vendors

support a spectrum of devices—with Apple, BlackBerry, Android, Windows Mobile and Nokia topping the list.

Our 2010 study found that 36% of MBs currently using collaboration software identified native mobile sync as

a must-have feature, and we anticipate that this number will rise significantly when we repeat the study in

2012.

20%

34%

39%

42%

53%

55%

58%

65%

76%

81%

81%

83%

85%

22%

25%

24%

28%

24%

20%

17%

11%

14%

7%

9%

7%

9%

Presence, find-me follow-me

Travel & expense tracker

Location-based services – travel, hotels, restaurant, yellow cab, etc.

Conferencing applications – audio, web and video conferencing

Document management – including ability to edit documents

GPS/navigation and mapping

Instant messaging (IM)

SMS (Short Message Service), AKA texting

Voicemail & Voice note recording

Calendar

Web access and search

Contact Information

Company E-mail

Current Planned



Summary and SMB Group Perspective

Collaboration is the only activity that everyone in every company engages in every day. Whether a CEO or a

new hire, a sales rep or an attorney, everyone needs to share and manage information, ideas, resources and

connections to get their jobs done.

Until recently, most businesses could get the job done with a few simple tools such as email, calendars,

document sharing and the good old telephone. But today, many businesses need more effective collaboration

tools to share knowledge, streamline processes and keep everyone “on the same page.”

Fortunately, companies such as HyperOffice provide integrated online collaboration suites designed to meet

the needs and budgets of growing businesses. Furthermore, these solutions let businesses take an incremental

approach toward an integrated goal so that companies don’t need to start out using everything at once. This

means that businesses can deploy the capabilities that address their biggest pain points first and then

incorporate new functionality as needed—assured that new capabilities will mesh with those already in place.

Point collaboration solutions will continue to exist because they soothe an immediate pain. But as businesses

grow, so does their need for and the value they place on successful collaboration. By developing and deploying

a more strategic and integrated collaboration strategy that addresses traditional, social and mobile

requirements, businesses can not only ease the short-term pain but also reap significant time and productivity

benefits over the long term.



SMB GROUP, INC.

The SMB Group focuses exclusively on researching and analyzing the highly fragmented “SMB market”—which

is composed of many smaller, more discrete markets. Within the SMB market, the SMB Group’s areas of focus

include Emerging Technologies, Cloud Computing, Managed Services, Business and Marketing Applications,

Collaboration and Social Media Solutions, IT Infrastructure Management and Services, and Green IT. Read our

2012 Top 10 SMB Technology Market Predictions for our views on game changers in these and other areas of

the SMB market.

http://www.smb-gr.com/

http://www.smb-gr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/pdfs/2012_SMB_Group_Predictions.pdf

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The State of Collaboration 2012 - HyperOffice · The business world is evolving at breakneck speed. Companies have to operate in ever-wider networks, cater ... convergence. Collaboration,