Conducted by analyst research firm Techaisle, the survey was carried out in the UK, Australian, French, German and US markets across wide-ranging industries including IT, telecom, manufacturing and healthcare.
The survey found that UK organisations expect that 44 per cent of their workforce will work from home 3-4 days a week on an ongoing basis, and 20 per cent will work from home exclusively — yet just 8 per cent of UK organisations reported having a ‘hybrid-first’ mindset when making organisational and operational decisions, and 43 per cent of UK organisations possessed only basic hybrid work capabilities when it comes to collaboration technology.
The majority (75 per cent) of employees agreed that better communication and collaboration tools help them to do their job better, yet just 33 per cent of UK organisations reported having mature remote work practices with advanced communication and collaboration tools.
83 per cent of UK organisations said they believed that modern communications are vital to business success. 69 per cent of organisations surveyed want to invest in multi-purpose communication and collaboration technology rather than single-purpose, dedicated devices — reinforcing the value of robust Unified Communications (UC) platforms.
According to respondents, the right UC solutions allow for flexibility, include a breadth of features, and integrate well with other technology solutions such as office suites, project management and CRM solutions, making them ideally suited for a hybrid work environment.
Organisations in the UK also want convenient ways to purchase modern UC solutions. When it comes to on-prem UC specifically, 38 per cent of UK organisations said they prefer to purchase UC solutions as a capital expenditure (CapEx), while 35 per cent prefer an operational expenditure (OpEx) model.
UC providers who offer flexible purchase models, including services by subscription, are therefore better positioned to attract organisations wanting to modernise their communications, Mitel said.
“Techaisle’s latest research underscores the urgent need for organisations to modernise their communications experiences in ways that will help employees and customers thrive in the era of hybrid work,” said Daren Finney, senior vice president, global channels at Mitel.
“However, with the amount of persistent change organisations are facing and needs that vary greatly from one organisation to the next, it can be challenging to figure out how to successfully navigate the modernisation process.
“Mitel’s business strategy is rooted in comprehensive customer lifecycle management that gives organisations of varying sizes and industries the choice, flexibility, future-proofing, and support they need to win over employees and customers long term.”