Collaboration with colleagues was always central to how we traditionally worked ‘in real life’, and 2020’s COVID-19 crisis has pushed collaboration to the centre stage.
Across this year, we saw the rise of hybrid workplaces where some of us worked from home, others were in a physical office space, while some teams worked on-site. Collaboration technology brings it all together, enabling unified workflows. A Cisco report (opens pdf) found that 98% of meetings are expected to include WFH employees in a post-COVID-19 world, signalling that collaboration technology is here to stay.
Why do people use collaboration tech?
Research suggests that the top reasons are to share files (27%), talk to one another (20%), assign work (17%), and work with external stakeholders (11%). Even prior to the pandemic, collaboration tools had its advantages – employees found it easier to find info (33%), and there was a stronger sense of team-building (25%). As collaboration technology cements itself as a mandatory part of your productivity stack, we were eager to explore what lies ahead in 2021 and beyond.
We spoke to experts from Avaya, Lifesize, PGi, and Workplace from Facebook for exclusive insights on the collaboration tech marketplace right now, and in the future. Avaya is a US-based UC company, Lifesize is known for its VC and meeting room solutions, PGi is the company behind the GlobalMeet suite of products, and Workplace from Facebook is the company’s enterprise-facing social media platform.
Here’s what our experts had to say about the four key issues for the collab industry today.
The Top Customer Trends from 2020
We asked the four industry experts about the top trends they witnessed among their collaboration solution customers this year.
Expectedly, everyone mentioned the pandemic as a determining force for market movements. This led to offshoot trends like fresh demand for video, collaboration to power company culture, and shifts in hardware priorities.
Rob Carmichael, Consulting Sales Engineer at Avaya:
Rob Carmichael from Avaya spoke about the challenges the pandemic had caused.
“Without a doubt, the current health pandemic has placed a huge demand on existing capabilities for remote productivity and communications. Organisations used what they had, even if that wasn’t planned for scale, leading to slow VPNs, overloaded IT teams and frustrated employees,” he said.
Thankfully, most organisations were quick to adapt, changing their purchase habits to meet the needs of the hour. “Organisations switched from buying desktops to laptops, from allowing occasional once a week home working to actively supporting their employees in flexible work locations,” Carmichael added.
He also mentioned the need for VPN-less UC&C, and we would agree. In a software-defined world, organisations must look at smarter alternatives like SD-WAN to enable VPN-less connectivity
David Hsieh, General Manager of Advanced Collaboration at Lifesize:
According to David Hsieh from Lifesize, the pandemic pushed up demand for collaboration tech.
“One of the main drivers we’ve seen is that collaborative technologies went from being important in certain cases to absolutely mission-critical for all knowledge workers. If an organization had a weak collaboration stack pre-COVID, they could manage, but now they would be out of business,” he said
As Hsieh put it, being able to work across distributed teams is now undeniable every company’s No. 1 priority. This means that collaboration technology is now more consumerized than ever. “Pretty much every organization on the planet from non-profits to Fortune 500 enterprises have moved to online interaction powered by collaborative technology,” noted Hsieh.
An important part of this ‘mainstream-isation’ is the use of collaboration tools for use cases apart from the usual file sharing and communication – for example, as Hsieh said, remote learning.
Terry Lyons, SVP, Collaboration Business Unit at PGi:
PGi’s Terry Lyons echoed Hsieh’s thoughts: “Collaboration solutions have gone from optional to mandatory. The boundaries between consumer and enterprise solutions are blurring.”
Lyons stressed three trends that dominated this year:
- Work from anywhere – WFH is only part of the conversation
- Erosion of market share – Providers must find competitive new strategies in an increasingly crowded solution marketplace
- The rise of video – Video mimics in-person communication, leading to demand for web cam-enablement, background integration, etc.
Cisco’s report confirmed that hybrid workplaces are here to stay, with 53% of companies already looking at options to reduce office space. These three trends can help collaboration technology providers and buyers to prepare for the road ahead.
Nazir Ul-Ghani, Head of Workplace from Facebook, EMEA:
Facebook’s Nazir Ul-Ghani pinpointed how the pandemic upturned traditional communication models and made transparency absolutely critical. “Transparent communication has been key, with businesses taking to new and innovative ways to connect with staff and deliver critical information quickly,” he said. This meant:
- Regular two-way conversations
- Feedback and questionnaires
- Live video communication
- Remote collaboration for culture building
Ghani told us how Workplace customer, Moneypenny banked on collaboration tech to maintain their corporate culture during this unprecedented crisis.
“Moneypenny, an outsourced communications company, are well known nationally for their people-focused culture. Looking after employee health and wellbeing over this period has become mission-critical to the company, and the staff at Moneypenny have used Workplace to support their colleagues both personally and professionally,” he said.
Challenges on the Road Ahead in 2021
Given this 2020 context, we next moved on to potential roadblocks and pitfalls for the next 12 months. The biggest challenge, our experts agreed, would be stabilising in the new normal and adapting solution delivery. An increasing number of companies will have to face the challenges of reopening physical workplaces, even as some of the workforce continues to WFH.
Rob Carmichael, Consulting Sales Engineer at Avaya:
In 2021, Carmichael said, companies will struggle to “determine the new normal.”
We would expect organisations to be under pressure to boost productivity, at least returning to pre-pandemic days, if not aim for growth. There are two ways to address this – the first is to offer manager training so that they are equipped to lead dispersed teams. Second, organisations also need a smartly designed collaboration tech stack.
“This ensures your people are able to leverage their colleagues to be just as effective on their remote days as the in-office ones,” Carmichael explained.
A lot of these challenges will spill over to the solution provider’s side.
David Hsieh, General Manager of Advanced Collaboration at Lifesize:
David Hsieh from Lifesize expressed his concerns about the definition of the future of work.
As companies enter the next stage of response, solution providers will struggle to figure out the customer’s vision for the future of work. “We went from a phase where people in the office embraced varying degrees of remote work, to now, where there’s a mix of people returning to the physical workplace (with obvious limitations) and companies turning to permanent remote work,” he traced the journey succinctly.
Therefore, solution providers will invest in understanding how a customer company maintains productivity through new technologies, even as it navigates the waves of the pandemic.
“This will form a foundation for establishing operations in 2021,” Hsieh believes.
Terry Lyons, SVP, Collaboration Business Unit at PGi:
PGi’s Terry Lyons picked up another critical challenge for collab providers: user experience.
“UX is key. With the growth in video usage, there are signs of video fatigue. Solutions will have to continue to enhance their user experience, adding functionalities that keep users engaged to maintain that growth,” he said
He also shared 5 interesting predictions and recommendations:
- “Expect to see more interaction enablers on video such as enhanced layouts and backgrounds to support larger or longer meetings and events”
- “Training and conferences are now online. Solutions need to adapt to support these use cases. Expect to see a rise in gamification to also address them”
- “IT departments will have to support a distributed workforce forever. Keeping control over what applications employees use will be key”
- “Security requirements will drive conversations with vendors.”
- “Carriers must find new competitive strategies to grow revenues as OTT providers enter the communications space”
Nazir Ul-Ghani, Head of Workplace from Facebook, EMEA:
Sustaining a dispersed workforce through 2021 will be a major challenge, suggested Facebook’s Nazir Ul-Ghani.
He discussed a recent report from Workplace that revealed how fragmented communication really is – something that companies can’t afford right now. “56% of UK head office leaders acknowledge that the pandemic has highlighted how ‘office-biased’ their communication approach is. HQ leaders told us they relied on company email (84%), compared to only 29% of frontline managers, who preferred calling and texting on personal devices,”
“The reality is that if HQ and frontline aren’t communicating in the same place, they aren’t communicating at all,” added Ghani.
As companies work towards business reunification, a singular platform will be key. “Whether they’re office-based or on the frontline, bringing everyone in a company together on one communication platform will ensure everyone has a voice and there is a seamless flow of critical information around the business,” he said.
Prioritising Employee Experience (EX) will be another challenge.
2020 was a turbulent year for EX, given the many peaks and troughs faced across the last few months. Next year, this should ideally stabilize – “EX will help organisations create more meaningful experiences at work, change culture, shape moments across the employee lifecycle and create a sense of belonging that drives performance,” Ghani mentioned.
The Most Value-Generating Technology for Collaboration Buyers
Next, we wanted to discuss some of the technologies that would help customers solve the above challenges. Specifically, which ones would generate the most value as we try and return to some sort of business as usual? The answer was better peripherals, more seamless integrations, more engaging EX (Employee Experience), and – you guessed it – video. Here’s what our experts had to say.
Rob Carmichael, Consulting Sales Engineer at Avaya:
Avaya’s Rob Carmichael believes that the most value-generating solutions will be “collaboration technologies that have video conferencing built-in.” This would help to build a singular workflow, right from brainstorming to execution.
As Carmichael mentioned, customers need technologies that can support employees as they move from deciding on the actions during a meeting to actioning the output.
Interestingly, he also predicts a rise in meeting room demand. This is understandable, as many employees have been starved of in-person contact for months now. Traditional meetings could offer a chance to reconnect. Also, even if fewer people come to the office in 2021, social distancing norms mean that large meeting rooms will be mandatory. This has its own hardware implications.
“As people chose oversized meeting rooms, the microphone, speaker and camera technology are important to make sure everyone can see and hear clearly and safely,” said Carmichael
David Hsieh, General Manager of Advanced Collaboration at Lifesize:
David Hsieh from Lifesize spoke on similar lines as Carmichael, emphasising the potential value from video software and hardware solutions.
“For most organizations, video conferencing and remote meetings have become as ubiquitous and fundamental as the telephone. Earlier this year, it was all about figuring out the basics and addressing the core productivity needs of employees, but now companies are realizing that we’re in this for the long haul. Now, all workers are used to video meetings as the default mode of interaction,” he said.
Given this ubiquity of video, innovators must turn towards advanced collaboration technology to improve presentations, content creation, and interpersonal communication. Cisco found that 66% of companies have increased video use following the pandemic, leaving a lot of opportunities for improvement.
Providers will try to address this by fast-tracking fresh features and acquiring new capabilities where possible.
“Software and devices, like those Lifesize added through its acquisition of Kaptivo, are expanding the ways that teams can interact and be more productive through advanced collaboration,” said Hsieh.
Terry Lyons, SVP, Collaboration Business Unit at PGi:
According to PGi’s Terry Lyons, there are two technologies that will bring the most value in 2021:
- Integrations to productivity tools – “Team productivity tools that can seamlessly integrate into your daily workflow will be the winners, especially on mobile devices. In a work-from-anywhere world, being able to get tasks done quickly on your mobile device will be key,”
- Continued innovation around video engagement – “Video enhancements to address all multiple use cases will continue. With continued 5G rollouts, the growth of high-quality video on mobile will ensure continued growth in this space,”
Nazir Ul-Ghani, Head of Workplace from Facebook, EMEA:
“Work” in 2021 won’t be only about getting the job done, believes Nazir UL-Ghani.
“Technologies that deliver the best value next year will be those that don’t just help people work but change how they feel about work”
2020 has been a complex year for the labour force. Companies that provided high-quality EX and actually took care of their employees won long-term loyalty. “Investing in Employee Experience should be the back to work priority for every business,” suggested Ghani, indicating that this would shape perceived value from technology investments.
“EX will be defined by the way we use technology to shift from the old world of employer-driven values to a new system that puts employees at the heart of the business. It’s a move from profit-motive, to people-motive,” he explained. Ghani also hinted at the possible traits of such technology:
- Open and accessible to all
- The ability to listen to the voice of each employee
- Providing information and services in one centralised place
- Compatible with hybrid working models
Keeping in mind these ongoing challenges, future possibilities and technology potential, we were curious to know what might be the single most game-changing trend in collaboration for 2021. Here our experts’ insights.
Predictions for 2021: The Most Game-changing Trend
As companies reach a higher degree of remote working maturity, they would be better poised to maximize their collaboration tech stack. This could unlock several optimistic trends in the next twelve months.
Rob Carmichael, Consulting Sales Engineer at Avaya:
For Avaya’s Rob Carmichael, the dominating trend for 2021 will be “accelerating the move to the cloud and subscription models.” There are three reasons for this trend – ease of access, consistent updates, and manageable costs:
- The cloud enables flexibility for locations. People can work without needing a VPN and can access their tools, files and apps wherever they are
- Subscription models allow organisations to keep their technology evergreen with the latest versions whilst providing flexibility on seat consumption
- Models that include high watermark usage (i.e. a performance-based model instead of flat rate only) will provide increased cost efficiencies
The SaaS revolution in collaboration technology was already well underway, and it will continue to hold strong across 2021.
David Hsieh, General Manager of Advanced Collaboration at Lifesize:
“The biggest trend for 2021 will be software vendors consolidating to offer suites of solutions,” said David Hsieh from Lifesize.
This indicates a tectonic shift in how we define value itself. Traditionally, all major market players would aim to become an “all-star point solution” said Hsieh. This meant limited interoperability, cumbersome integrations, and duplicated costs and efforts.
“Now, all of the leading players in the market will have a suite of communication and collaboration capabilities. The question will no longer be which meeting platform is best; it will be an all-out competition for who delivers the most unified experience for both internal employees and external customers, partners and other stakeholders,” he added.
Over the last few months, we have seen competing players come together to offer consolidated solutions – like the once-unlikely Microsoft-Cisco partnership. As Hsieh said, providers must decide if they prefer to be best-in-class or an integrated platform, and most will choose the latter.
Terry Lyons, SVP, Collaboration Business Unit at PGi:
PGi’s Terry Lyons believes that 2021 will finally be the year when AI for collaboration goes fully mainstream. The technology has been around for a while, and the high availability of collaboration data makes the business case for AI even stronger.
“AI will take data from your meeting (audio, video, content) as well as outside your meeting (calendar, 3rd party integrations, etc.) and utilize it to enhance productivity, automate repetitive tasks, and more,” predicts Lyons.
Nazir Ul-Ghani, Head of Workplace from Facebook, EMEA:
Even as our experts agreed on the value-generating potential of video in 2021, Facebook’s Nazir Ul-Ghani takes it one step further: virtual reality (VR).
“I predict that VR spending will grow as companies invest in new ways to be closer together and maintain productivity. VR, in particular, will be increasingly key in helping people do their jobs in the remote world, whether it’s through functional training, collaborative meetings or design walk-throughs,” he said.
The reason for this is obvious: VR mimics in-person presence better than any other technology.
“VR offers an immersive and inclusive experience that resembles in-person interaction. It is also set to be critical for training both for dangerous scenario training as well as specialised training in the “soft skills” of leadership and management,” Ghani noted.
Interestingly, Workplace from Facebook plans to capitalise on this trend in 2021. They will expand their enterprise offering so that it is easier to integrate VR and develop applications for this growing market.
If necessity is the mother of invention, this was the year of accelerated innovation and adoption in the collab space. We saw the rapid rise of startups like JioMeet, FlyBy, Qatalog, etc., eager to occupy a share of the demand pie, and we saw large players roll out new features in quick succession. 2021 promises to be a period of gradual maturity and stabilisation, where the “fittest” of the innovations that emerge stay on.
We thank all our experts for their time and invaluable insights on this round table. If you enjoyed this read, make sure to check out UC Today on YouTube for more such conversations. You can also subscribe to the channel for updates on the next round table in this space.
