Analysts agree that the communications companies are now increasingly socially motivated, such as the use of instant messaging (IM) and social networking, but also note that email remains a staple, if not the top, the type of communication in organizations.
There is “growing interest” in “social technologies” is used as a form of communication between companies, including social media, instant messaging, Web conferencing and video conferencing, said John Brand, vice president of Forrester Research principal analyst CIO group.
“Communication has always been social business,” he said in an interview via e-mail with ZDNet Asia. Outside the organization, companies are always “conduct conversations with customers” who would be in the present context, through social media like Twitter and Facebook.
However, “social [that] applies to” communications internal organizations as well, said Mark, when he try on the development of digitally-enabled social activities within the company and the way most businesses, their own “Facebook for the enterprise “. “Employees contribute richer directory with the ability of users, [and share] their own content” is about the creation of, be it through social networking tools, blogs and wikis, he said.
Social communication within the company has the ability to democratize decision-making and increase transparency and accountability, ‘said Mark.
Sherrie Huang, research manager of communication and collaboration, IDC Asia-Pacific agreed that the Company is a growing trend in business communications, both internally and externally. The social networking companies and more companies are using social media as still as a tool to communicate with external partners is accepted, said via e-mail.
E-mail is not dead
Although communications company can be more social, e-mail about replacing or have doubled, and in fact remains essential and most widespread form of communication, analysts observed.
E-mail, Huang said, is “a fundamental communication tool and necessary” for businesses. Although the use of e-mail to “slow down” to see growth in the markets, where communications and new media attack remains “strong growth” in emerging markets like Southeast Asia, he said.
According to Huang, is the protocol for the e-mail and Internet (IP) communications tools such as “the most common and necessary” for most companies, but also the fundamentals that are most other major Unified Communications (UC) on a function or integrated .
Even if companies are to take other means of communication “rather than replace them free use of” e-mail, he said.
Mark Forrester argues similarly that, in addition to telephone, e-mail to the “most popular” of communication is, and not “definitely [not] the mass migration” of e-mail as a tool for general communication.
He said that instant messaging, Web conferencing, blogs, wikis and other social technologies have an impact on the development of e-mail as “something completely different,” always expands and integrates with other systems in a way that the lines makes between the two “very vague” and “difficult to distinguish.” For example, e-mail as a platform for notification of updates to the media, the implementation will be used.
Unified Communications Unified Communications and Policy
On the question of absorption of the company’s Unified Communications (UC), Huang said IDC fixes and new features integrated into the University of California have the technology “mature” and “attractive” to a greater number of companies. Companies are now trying the “real value of UC,” and to provide unified communications offerings to improve productivity, better serve customers and reduce costs, he said.
Mark also noted that to “develop” as more companies use UC converged communications, although usually of a personal computer (PC), laptop or tablet goes on – “generic” technology platforms in UC as a specific hardware device manufacturers.
If the communication relates to social online conversations or meeting face to face, ultimately, “what we are experiencing now, a time where people do and may your communication tool of choice, [which] is subject to change, depending on what they are communicating, “said Mark.
Part of the reason is also due to the influx of younger workers from Generation Y population, who prefer the use of “asynchronous channels,” he said. He also warned that enterprise communications increasingly incorporating social elements, organizations must also be aware that there are also social “significant” threat to security in the form of data leakage, for example.
Therefore, it is “trained to communicate in the right way” of crucial importance for organizations to ensure that all employees through an electronic means of e-mail to social networks, and communication policy of the company and the expectations are clearly defined and the employees , Brand said known.
The challenge of the code of acceptable behavior, but finding the “golden mean” or in the center is firm, that allows employees to use “electronic tools to improve communication, but do not drown in bureaucracy management, how they actually use the Tools “or block with the same tools to access rights and privileges, he said.
Huang, IDC recommends that companies a “robust” and a unified corporate communications that define all the important communication – IP telephony and e-mail to instant messaging.
The organization “to understand clearly what they want to” be and the kind of business requirements, the required level of security and consider the needs of employees, he said.