Study, Sponsored by Verizon and Cisco, First to Quantify Improved Performance From Advanced Collaboration

Study, Sponsored by Verizon and Cisco, First to Quantify Improved Performance
From Advanced Collaboration
Frost & Sullivan Research Finds Dramatic Return on Investments in Advanced
Collaboration Tools; IP Networks Growing as Business Platform

NEW YORK, Oct. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Organizations around the world that deploy
the most advanced Internet-protocol-based collaboration technologies achieve
more than twice the return on their collaboration investment and perform
better than their less collaborative peers, according to a new Frost &
Sullivan study released Wednesday (Oct. 14).

"Meetings Around the World II: Charting the Course of Advanced Collaboration,"
sponsored by Verizon and Cisco, examines how professionals in businesses and
government agencies get their work done by using advanced collaboration tools
such as voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), instant messaging or meeting via
high-definition video or Cisco TelePresence(TM).

(NOTE: To access a social media release containing video and audio podcasts
and other related online resources, visit:
http://www.verizonbusiness.com/go/meetingsaroundtheworld.)

The study also introduces the industry's first quantitative model for a return
on collaboration investment. The groundbreaking measurement, called the Return
on Collaboration index, establishes a progressive impact of deploying advanced
unified communications and collaboration (UC&C) technologies on business
performance, and measures improvements in areas such as research and
development, human resources, sales, marketing, investor relations and public
relations.

The study found that businesses and government agencies deploying increasingly
more sophisticated collaboration tools -- such as VoIP soft phones, immersive
video and fixed mobile convergence -- saw a corresponding improvement in
business results relative to the amount invested. The overall average Return
on Collaboration (ROC) score was 4.2 -- meaning organizations received an
average return of four times their investment in deploying collaboration
technologies in terms of improvement across business-critical areas.

The organizations surveyed by the study reported that advanced collaboration
such as UC&C enhances their ability to produce positive results. For example,
research and development managers in organizations deploying UC&C reported
that advanced collaboration tools enable products and solutions to be
developed more quickly, with an improved chance of market success, a higher
degree of quality, and a lower overall cost of development.

The new study builds on the 2006 Frost & Sullivan study -- "Meetings Around
the World: The Impact of Collaboration on Business Performance" -- which
determined collaboration is a key driver of business performance and
collaboration through communications technologies can provide a competitive
advantage.

"'Meetings Around the World II' confirms and extends the key findings of the
original study and builds on those conclusions," said Brian Cotton, vice
president for information and communications technologies for Frost &
Sullivan. "This latest research shows adopting progressively more advanced
unified communications and collaboration tools can help organizations achieve
a corresponding return on collaboration and improvement across all business
functions. This return was most dramatic in the areas of sales, marketing, and
research and development."

3,662 SMB, Enterprise Decision-Makers in 10 Countries
Frost & Sullivan in May 2009 conducted an online survey of 3,662 information
technology (IT) or line-of-business decision-makers in organizations in 10
countries in Asia-Pacific, Europe and the U.S. The survey gauged attitudes and
practices within small and medium-sized businesses (50 to 999 employees) and
enterprises (1,000 or more employees) in the financial services, government,
health care, high technology, professional services, manufacturing and retail
industries.

The study was undertaken as organizations around the world grappled with a
challenging economy, and results showed use of UC&C solutions are becoming
increasingly popular. Nearly half (44 percent) of all organizations surveyed
have deployed UC&C tools -- such as user presence on a device, document
sharing, immersive video or Cisco TelePresence for near-lifelike visual
communications, integrated voice, e-mail and instant messaging, and telephone
features and management capabilities on mobile devices and the desktop.

The study also found that 40 percent of organizations that deploy UC&C plan to
increase spending on this despite current economic conditions. In addition,
more than 80 percent of organizations that have not deployed UC&C tools plan
to deploy some form of them in the next two to three years.

Nancy Gofus, senior vice president of global business products for Verizon,
said, "Based on this study, we see an era of advanced collaboration on the
horizon. Organizations embracing unified communications and collaboration
tools in an open, decentralized structure are enabling a more effective work
style and cultivating a fertile ground for success. As organizations aspire
to become advanced collaborators, even small steps taken along the way can
immediately pay off."

Creating a Collaboration 'Network Effect'
The greatest impact of collaboration was where the largest numbers of people
interacted for a common goal, including sales, research and development and
marketing. By implementing more advanced UC&C tools, the study found,
organizations could increase their return across all areas.

This finding suggests that teams using UC&C tools can benefit from a "network
effect" -- a theory attributed to Robert Metcalfe, the co-inventor of
Ethernet, that holds that the more users on a network, the more value is
likely realized from it. While larger enterprises tended to receive greater
collaboration returns, small and medium-sized businesses can increase returns
by deploying progressively more advanced tools and expanding their reach
beyond their organizations working with customers, partners and suppliers.

[For more information on attitudes toward collaboration around the world, go
to:
http://www.verizonbusiness.com/about/news/displaynews.xml?newsid=25390&mode=vzlong.
To view a video discussing professionals' attitudes about collaboration, go
to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzW8F-0kUbo]

Blair Crump, Verizon Business group president of worldwide sales, said: "Our
customers increasingly are turning to us for consulting, design and
implementation services to make the most of their IP connections as a platform
for advanced collaboration. Our expert UC&C professional services capabilities
combined with our comprehensive solutions portfolio can help organizations
embrace this new work style and mobilize their workforce for a competitive
advantage."

(NOTE: To see how Verizon Business customers CA and First American are
embracing advanced collaboration to their business advantage, go to:
http://www.verizonbusiness.com/about/news/displaynews.xml?newsid=25279&mode=vzlong&lang=en&width=530
and
http://www.verizonbusiness.com/about/news/displaynews.xml?newsid=25386&mode=vzlong.)

"The Meetings Around the World II study confirms that collaboration is the
next phase of the Internet and at the center of this phase is the network as a
platform," said Carlos Dominguez, senior vice president for the office of the
chairman and CEO, Cisco. "Having the right collaborative platform helps
enable enterprises and organizations to speed decision making, increase
productivity and improve interactions with their customers and partners, all
designed to give them a competitive edge."

Verizon is a leading provider of collaboration and unified communications
services, enabling organizations to conveniently and effectively collaborate,
virtually anytime, anywhere, helping them improve response time and
productivity without the costs and carbon emissions associated with business
travel. With 30 years of experience delivering conferencing services, the
company uses its global IP network to provide a wide array of advance
collaboration and mobility tools to large-business and government customers
around the world, including audio, video and Web conferencing; VoIP; contact
center services; and managed and hosting solutions, as well as professional
services capabilities.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global
leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications
services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers.
Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving
more than 87 million customers nationwide. Verizon's Wireline operations
provide converged communications, information and entertainment services over
the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network. Wireline also includes
Verizon Business, which delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to
customers around the world. A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse
workforce of more than 235,000 and last year generated consolidated operating
revenues of more than $97 billion. For more information, visit
www.verizon.com.

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SOURCE Verizon

Stefanie Scott, +1-512-495-6730, stefanie.scott@verizon.com