Fonality Survey Reveals Changing Business Communication Landscape

Companies Risk Falling Behind by Failing to Arm Employees with the Right Technology

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Oct 13, 2015, 01:55 ET

PLANO, Texas, Oct. 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The way we communicate at work may be falling behind the curve, according to a survey by cloud communications leader Fonality. The survey revealed business communication trends about how and where work gets done as well as an opportunity for IT professionals to lead their companies into the cloud.

Desk phones still preferred by workers over mobile and softphones, but barely

"As the workplace and business needs change, companies and IT managers have their work cut out for them ensuring their policies and office technology keep up with the times," said Jeff Valentine, chief marketing officer for Fonality. "Today's workers want to be empowered to use their preferred devices, work where life takes them, and use modern office technology like cloud VoIP business phones with unified communications. Once businesses review how they can make the most of these trends, Fonality's ready with a solution that's easy to buy, manage, and use."

Desk Phones Barely Keep the Lead
More than half (51.6 percent) of workers surveyed use their desk phone as their top choice for taking and making work calls. However, desk phones just barely nudged out those who prefer their mobile or softphone. Together, the two alternatives totaled 48.5 percent. Nearly 1 out of five (37.6 percent) prefer their cellphone and more than 1 out of 10 (11.6 percent) have ditched the desk phone in favor of using software on their computer.

Work Is No Longer a Location
With more than one-third (34 percent) of business users working mostly outside of the office, the workplace is no longer restricted to one physical location. This may seem intuitive given the rise of BYOD and the growing expectation of enterprise mobility. However, this trend translates to an important insight for business owners and IT professionals. Fonality finds companies that ensure employees have a consistent experience working from the office, from a coffee shop, or from home can maximize productivity as well as attract and retain talent. For tips on enabling a remote workforce, check out a recent blog post by CMO Valentine.

Many IT Managers Are Stuck with Dated Systems
Interestingly, those in an IT management role are more likely to work for a business that hasn't modernized. Nearly half of those with a traditional PBX system reported working in IT. This may be because they were more likely to know what kind of system they had. However, it highlights a huge opportunity for IT pros to lead their organizations to a system with more user benefits and to get themselves out of managing costly telecommunications equipment.

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Survey Methodology: Trends were identified via two surveys written by Fonality and conducted by Google Consumer Survey in May 2015. Survey #1 was completed by 519 individuals who work for organizations with 1-500 employees. Survey #2 was completed by 543 people using the same criteria.

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SOURCE Fonality