[January 06, 2015] |
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Polycom's Top 7 Workplace of the Future Predictions for 2015
The way we work is changing. Collaboration technologies are ushering in
a next generation workplace that is more productive, efficient and
delivers meaningful cost savings to organizations of all sizes across
the globe. With new, more advanced mobile devices giving employees the
freedom to work from anywhere, these technologies will only continue to
reshape the look and feel of the "office." As such, Polycom (News - Alert)
(NASDAQ:PLCM) today is unveiling its top seven technology predictions
for 2015 and beyond that we believe will transform how we work now and
in the future.
1. Globalizing companies will rapidly adopt and use
collaboration tools… Global expansion means working across time
zones, borders and cultures. The future of business requires
collaboration tools that extend business and defy distance and time.
Ultimate success comes when organizations embrace individual
collaborative preferences and build a culture of collaboration by
accommodating a variety of tools from email, telephony, social media,
video and content sharing. In 2015, more tools that enable visual
communication from people to content will help break down communication
borders and enable more global success.
2. Integration, not just interoperability… Video
conferencing is altering business models, according to the white paper, "Revolutionizing
the Future Workplace" by futurist Jack Uldrich. It is quickly
becoming one of the most used collaboration tools and is expected
to overtake email as the preferred tool by 2016. But mass adoption
does not happen unless it is made contextual to an end user's preferred
work style. Integrating collaboration technology, such as voice, video
and content sharing tools, into communication systems, business
applications and workflows will drive adoption. New technologies such as
WebRTC, standards-based video, rich SDKs and a deeper understanding of
unified communications applications, make this a reality. New
industry-specific solutions-particularly in healthcare, government,
financial services and retail-will increase the use and relevance of
video this year.
3. The workspace itself will evolve… The workspace
itself is changing significantly. To reduce real estate space and
related expenses, some companies are moving from rows of cubicles to
more open workspaces and offering employees flexible work arrangements.
As a result, we expect workplace innovation from a distance to define
the future of working. New technology innovations, like noise
cancellation, lighting adjustments and digital white-boarding, will
support this transformation. These technology innovations, coupled with
a stronger desire for open collaboration, will render the current
officebased workspace obsolete. More emphasis will be placed on
connecting to anywhere, from anywhere, at any time.
4. The Age of 'Supermobility'… In "Revolutionizing
the Future Workplace," Jack Uldrich predicts smartphones will grow to
2.4 billion units by 2018-a ratio of 6:1 to PCs. In 2015,
device-to-device communication will enable contextual-based
collaboration. We are entering the age of "supermobility," in which
mobile devices will provide all of the tools and technology that
employees need to be productive on the go, including voice, video and
content collaboration solutions. This "supermobility," which will
include more use of near field communications (NFC), Wi-Di, Ultrasonic
and other wireless technologies, will give mobile device users easier
and more secure access to an enterprise's visual collaboration tools.
5. The SMB market will accelerate the use of cloud-based
collaboration solutions… Fueled by the evolution of mobility
and the cloud, subscription-based services provide organizations with
the ability to collaborate and achieve more. More than ever, large scale
movement of small- to medium-sized businesses (SMB) to cloud-based VoIP,
video and content sharing services will grow. Traditional PSTN
infrastructure is becoming outdated, and with a regulatory mandate to
move all voice services off of the PSTN within the next five years,
cloud-based voice, video and content use will rise dramatically. New
applications and capabilities that were previously hard to get in the
traditional premise-based world will become much easier to deploy with
these cloud-based collaboration services.
6. Browser-based collaboration solutions will become the tool
of choice... Companies looking for simple and effective
communications will turn to the web browser in 2015. Enabled by WebRTC,
companies globally will come to depend more on the browser to perform
communication functions within work streams. Simplicity will ultimately
rule this change, as more businesses look to make video an easy to use
option. WebRTC will continue to gain traction in 2015, but will remain
basic, meaning any advanced functionality will still require an
enterprise solution. We believe 2016 will offer even greater adoption.
7. Meetings as you know them are changing for the better… Meetings
are changing because technology continues to foster new ways to
communicate. Better quality and easier to use collaboration solutions
are making it feel as natural as being there-so users have a common
experience regardless of their location or device. Video conferencing
solutions also will easily connect to third-party audio services, such
as Skype for Business (Microsoft (News - Alert) Lync), increasing business-to-consumer
(B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) communications.
Expect 2015 to be a signature year for advancement of collaboration
tools around the globe. With work environments shifting from traditional
to more advanced collaboration environments, more employees will look to
their employers for flexible yet productive "offices" to conduct work
from wherever they choose. Video collaboration is eliminating the
distance between locations and the barriers to communication with as
good as being there experiences. The workplace is changing for the
better, and we expect visual communications to be one of the biggest
catalysts in next generation team collaboration.
About Polycom
Polycom helps organizations unleash the power of human collaboration.
More than 400,000 companies and institutions worldwide defy distance
with secure video, voice and content solutions from Polycom to increase
productivity, speed time to market, provide better customer service,
expand education and save lives. Polycom and its global partner
ecosystem provide flexible collaboration solutions for any environment
that deliver the best user experience, the broadest multi-vendor
interoperability and unmatched investment protection. Visit www.polycom.com or
connect with us on Twitter, Facebook,
and LinkedIn to
learn more.
Forward Looking Statements and Risk Factors
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of
the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995 regarding our technology predictions for 2015. These
forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that
may cause actual results to differ materially, including the advancement
and adoption of other competing technologies and tools in the
collaboration space, the future markets in which we will participate and
the future solutions that we will offer. Many of these risks and
uncertainties are discussed in the Company's Quarterly Report on Form
10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2014, and in other reports filed
by Polycom with the SEC (News - Alert). Polycom disclaims any intent or obligations to
update these forward-looking statements.
NOTE: The product plans, specifications, and descriptions herein are
provided for information only and subject to change without notice, and
are provided without warranty of any kind, express or implied. Polycom
reserves the right to modify future product plans at any time. Products
and related specifications referenced herein are not guaranteed and will
be delivered on a when and if available basis.
© 2014 Polycom, Inc. All rights reserved. POLYCOM®, the Polycom logo,
and the names and marks associated with Polycom's products are
trademarks and/or service marks of Polycom, Inc. and are registered
and/or common law marks in the United States and various other
countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
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