- India, China and Singapore lead the region in use of collaboration technology in small meeting rooms
- Less than half (41%) of small meeting rooms or huddle spaces in Singapore are video-enabled, in contrast to 77% in India and 74% in China
- Almost all (96%) of Singapore and Asia Pacific (APAC) workers said that collaboration technologies help them to be more productive and to work smarter
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| Source: Polycom. People videoconferencing in a huddle room. |
A new study released by Polycom - now part of Plantronics - revealed that while content sharing is the preferred collaboration tool for Singapore workers, the nation’s adoption of videoconferencing is lagging in the region, providing an opportunity for productivity gain by using the latest collaboration tools such as video-conferencing and digital whiteboards.
The survey, Growing Big Ideas from Small Spaces, set out to discover the top collaboration preferences among workers in Asia Pacific – Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea, and Singapore. The report also sought to understand the growth in popularity of using smaller meeting spaces.
The study, which surveyed over 2,000 APAC workers, including 202 respondents from Singapore, showed that 96% of Singapore and APAC workers said that collaboration technologies help them to be more productive and to work smarter. Singapore workers are leading the region in using collaborative technologies to improve collaboration (77%), transfer knowledge (74%), increase productivity (70%) and enhance innovation and new idea generation (56%).
“Huddle rooms or workspaces are exactly what they sound like – small areas typically designed to accommodate no more than six people. Modern workplaces are incorporating more huddle spaces over larger conference rooms to encourage frequent team meetings and offer quiet focus areas in open environments,” explains Mei Lin Low, Director of APAC Solutions Marketing at Polycom.
“Today’s digital workers want to work smarter – connect and interact spontaneously, produce outcomes and drive results quicker. Technology-enabled huddle rooms satisfy this need for real-time, productive collaboration and are now, more than ever, an important component in an organisation’s digital transformation journey.”
The survey, Growing Big Ideas from Small Spaces, set out to discover the top collaboration preferences among workers in Asia Pacific – Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea, and Singapore. The report also sought to understand the growth in popularity of using smaller meeting spaces.
The study, which surveyed over 2,000 APAC workers, including 202 respondents from Singapore, showed that 96% of Singapore and APAC workers said that collaboration technologies help them to be more productive and to work smarter. Singapore workers are leading the region in using collaborative technologies to improve collaboration (77%), transfer knowledge (74%), increase productivity (70%) and enhance innovation and new idea generation (56%).
“Huddle rooms or workspaces are exactly what they sound like – small areas typically designed to accommodate no more than six people. Modern workplaces are incorporating more huddle spaces over larger conference rooms to encourage frequent team meetings and offer quiet focus areas in open environments,” explains Mei Lin Low, Director of APAC Solutions Marketing at Polycom.
“Today’s digital workers want to work smarter – connect and interact spontaneously, produce outcomes and drive results quicker. Technology-enabled huddle rooms satisfy this need for real-time, productive collaboration and are now, more than ever, an important component in an organisation’s digital transformation journey.”
Half of the Singapore workers (49%) use small meeting rooms only one to two times per week, while one out of three workers used it almost every day (three to five times a week), predominantly for internal meetings, followed by customer meetings and brainstorming sessions.
The survey, however, showed that less than half (41%) of small meeting rooms in Singapore are video-enabled, in contrast to 77% in India and 74% in China. These findings suggest significant opportunities for Singapore’s IT decision-makers to improve collaboration experiences and adopt current well-rounded technology-enabled environments for their businesses; particularly in light of national innovation efforts such as Smart Nation.
In fact, when 84% of Singapore workers use collaboration solutions to conduct team meetings with colleagues in other locations, 70% of them use it for workshops, brainstorming or problem-solving sessions with remote participants. Adopting collaboration tools like video conference has great potential to increase productivity through more interactive face-to-face communications.
Low continues: “While you don’t need expensive equipment to make great collaboration happen, a huddle room has to serve its purpose in enabling team meetings across any distance. Collaboration technology has evolved to adapt to people’s needs and new ways of working. But Frost & Sullivan research* has found that the majority of small meeting rooms globally are audio-visually challenged, leaving considerable opportunity for organisations in Singapore to create smarter huddle spaces.”
Other findings from Singapore included:
- Content-sharing via laptop is more prevalent for 71% of Singapore respondents while 37% use a mobile device.
- Creating the human-to-human connection is a priority – 72% are connecting to remote participants from their small meeting rooms, using audio, video, or content sharing technologies.
- Teleworking is also making an impact for workers in Singapore – respondents here showed a higher preference for using collaboration technology to connect with colleagues when working remotely.
Audrey William, Senior Fellow and Head of Research, Frost & Sullivan Australia and New Zealand said: “Creating intelligent workspaces like the huddle room, is the future of work. Small meeting spaces are fast becoming smart workspaces where high performance collaboration like problem solving and idea generation are taking place.
“Over time, expect that collaboration technologies like video will evolve even further with many already starting to include the integration of smart devices and voice activated speakers powered by artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.”
The survey, however, showed that less than half (41%) of small meeting rooms in Singapore are video-enabled, in contrast to 77% in India and 74% in China. These findings suggest significant opportunities for Singapore’s IT decision-makers to improve collaboration experiences and adopt current well-rounded technology-enabled environments for their businesses; particularly in light of national innovation efforts such as Smart Nation.
In fact, when 84% of Singapore workers use collaboration solutions to conduct team meetings with colleagues in other locations, 70% of them use it for workshops, brainstorming or problem-solving sessions with remote participants. Adopting collaboration tools like video conference has great potential to increase productivity through more interactive face-to-face communications.
Low continues: “While you don’t need expensive equipment to make great collaboration happen, a huddle room has to serve its purpose in enabling team meetings across any distance. Collaboration technology has evolved to adapt to people’s needs and new ways of working. But Frost & Sullivan research* has found that the majority of small meeting rooms globally are audio-visually challenged, leaving considerable opportunity for organisations in Singapore to create smarter huddle spaces.”
Other findings from Singapore included:
- Content-sharing via laptop is more prevalent for 71% of Singapore respondents while 37% use a mobile device.
- Creating the human-to-human connection is a priority – 72% are connecting to remote participants from their small meeting rooms, using audio, video, or content sharing technologies.
- Teleworking is also making an impact for workers in Singapore – respondents here showed a higher preference for using collaboration technology to connect with colleagues when working remotely.
Audrey William, Senior Fellow and Head of Research, Frost & Sullivan Australia and New Zealand said: “Creating intelligent workspaces like the huddle room, is the future of work. Small meeting spaces are fast becoming smart workspaces where high performance collaboration like problem solving and idea generation are taking place.
“Over time, expect that collaboration technologies like video will evolve even further with many already starting to include the integration of smart devices and voice activated speakers powered by artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.”
Details:
Read the Growing Big Ideas from Small Spaces report
