New benchmark report compares 33 virtual environments

You might be surprised to learn that there are 33 virtual environments out there. The fact that there are shows this is a vibrant and competitive market, with technologies that can have many possible use cases.

But how do you separate the wheat from the chaff? Well one researcher who's done that is Sami Ahma-aho from the Business, Innovation, Technology (BIT) Research Centre at Aalto University in Finland.

Life sciences executives, are you seeing this trend in your organization?

We've seen a common thread running through our conversations with life sciences executives over the past 90 days, and I wanted to blog about it to see if you are experiencing or observing the same thing. I'm thinking this could be an emerging trend that we as an industry need to be paying attention to.

Our team has continued to hear life sciences executives talk about how they are planning to shut down parts of their physical campuses, and set up virtual workplaces and remote working programs.

Executives have told us the primary reason driving their creation of virtual workplaces is their need to shrink their cost centers. Training facilities, for instance, are one of the largest cost centers we hear life sciences executives talk about.

Remote working: Employees' needs not being met

Telecommuting and virtual offices are becoming more pervasive across enterprises, but it's presenting a trade-off. "... while workers want autonomy and flexibility, they also want social connection," writes Jessica Stillman in a recent GigaOM article.

We're seeing this among enterprises too. One of the common challenges executives are grappling with is how to overcome the sense of isolation employees can get when working remotely.

Market showing enthusiasm for ProtoSphere Lync Edition 2010

It was exciting to introduce ProtoSphere Lync Edition 2010 last week. Even more exciting is seeing the market's enthusiasm for the new platform.

While I was at Microsoft's Lync launch event last week, I met Simon Booth, an IT consultant who's focused on UC development. We talked about ProtoSphere Lync Edition, and how it works with Lync Server 2010. Simon shared his feedback on ProtoSphere on his blog yesterday, calling it "one of the most exciting things I saw in the Lync launch."

Simon's perspective stems from his experience as a remote worker, which he's been for most of his career. In his post, he wrote about his long-term vision for unified communications, in which immersive telepresence is combined with a remote virtual experience.

It's an interesting and noteworthy impression of the future of UC and virtual environments, and I'd encourage you to read through his post. Thanks, Simon, for featuring us!

Mike Dolan, Editor of FierceVoIP, also recently highlighted ProtoSphere Lync Edition in his round up of what he found were notable technology announcements coming out of the Lync launch. He called ProtoSphere Lync Edition "one you don't see everyday." Thanks for including us, Mike! Also see what other technologies caught his eye by flipping over to his article.

Do you have the tools to be mobile?

If you're a card-carrying member of the mobile device generation, you can probably attest that your mobility is crucial to staying productive. Pick your poison. iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, iPad, netbook, Bluetooth, what have you. Without your mobile device, you feel virtually handicapped (literally).

So it's surprising to see that many small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are not providing their employees with the tools they need to be more mobile. A recent survey by Citrix Online finds 54 percent of SMB employees have become more mobile in their work habits over the past five years. But 60 percent of those surveyed reported that their employer does not provide mobile tools and resources to increase productivity.

The disconnect suggests "that small business owners are slow to recognize the impact mobility has on company productivity," according to a SmallBizTechnology.com article covering the research. It goes on to list several mobile technologies that should be considered when supporting mobile and remote working strategies.

One technology that caught my eye was virtual collaboration, and I'll direct you to my comment to read why. Give the article a look-see, and let us know what you think about the technologies it presents. Where's your organization at with regards to remote working? What differences do you see between SMBs and large enterprises when it comes to mobility and remote working?

ProViWo research update: the transcript

Earlier this week we posted our latest podcast with Dr. Petra Bosch, a professor at Aalto University who is studying the use of professional virtual worlds with her colleague, Dr. Anu Sivunen. The first phase of their research project, "ProViWo," is now complete, and we learned about what they studied and their findings. If you'd rather read through our interview, here's the complete transcript, proofed for clarity.

Virtual worlds' challenges and benefits found in ProViWo phase one research

Back in March, we interviewed Dr. Petra Bosch-Sijtsema about her new research project, which is studying how virtual worlds can be used for professional collaboration, and whether virtual worlds can enhance productivity in globally distributed teams. It's aptly dubbed Professional Collaboration and Productivity in Virtual Worlds (ProViWo).

At the time, Dr. Bosch and her colleague, Dr. Anu Sivunen, were in the midst of the initial phase of their research, looking at how companies in the U.S., Asia, and Europe were using virtual worlds for business.

That phase is now complete. All told, they interviewed 44 professionals at companies using virtual worlds, including those in the high-tech, energy, pharmaceutical, and medical industries. They focused their interviews on the challenges and benefits of virtual worlds adoption, and unearthed some interesting discoveries which Dr. Bosch was kind enough to share with us in a podcast.

Hit play below to catch our most recent interview with Dr. Bosch, where we learn about how her first research phase went, what she and Dr. Sivunen found, and what's next for the project.



They're working on publishing their initial findings in research journals, and we'll let you know when that becomes available. We'll be continuing to follow their progress, so keep your eyes on our blog for the latest on ProViWo.

Five keys to success for the virtual workforce

"Today I think it’s safe to say that a majority of the tasks that an individual needs to complete can be done just as effectively sitting on a beach in Maui as they can sitting in a cubicle."

That's a well-put line from Jacob Morgan. I wish I were sitting on a beach in Maui right now. But I don't think our COO Reg Best would be happy if I took another summer vacation. My wife and kids -- should I decide to bring them -- yes. Reg, no. J/k ;-)

Anyway, my point isn't that the beach is a cool place to work. It's that our workforce is more mobile than ever, and remote working continues to gain in popularity.

And in his post, Jacob breaks down what he finds to be the five crucial elements to a successful virtual workforce. They're worth a read.

What are your thoughts on the virtual workforce? What are your keys to success? I left my own in a comment on Jacob's post, but I'd be interested to see what you think as well.

Inside Sony's SharePoint 2010 roll out

Case studies about SharePoint 2010 are already surfacing. This one from Sony is worth a read. It details the communication and collaboration challenges Sony faces as a global organization -- including some employees' struggle to get their arms around 300 inbound e-mails a day. (Or, as I like to say, how they lead lives of quiet desperation out of their inboxes.)

The case study goes into how Sony was using SharePoint 2007, why it decided to upgrade to 2010, and the results of the deployment.

"By deploying a collaboration solution based on SharePoint Server 2010 and FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint, Sony Electronics is promoting innovation and building a stronger sense of community. Employees have better access to information and in-house expertise, increasing productivity and lowering costs, and the company speeds through application development," states the case study.

After reading through the story, my reaction was this: While many tech analysts have predicted 2010 to be the year of collaboration, Sony is showing that 2010 could be the year of *virtual* collaboration. I left my thoughts in a comment under the case study, so flip over to catch them. What do you think? Feel free to leave your comments here, or better yet, at the end of the case study.

Needed: a virtual assault on global warming

NO SMOKE-BLOWING: Virtual teaming is the new green energy

As I zipped between airports on my way to Research Triangle Park this week, burning jet fuel in an oxymoronic quest to tell the world about the benefits of working virtually, scenes of the massive oil spill unfolding in the gulf haunted me on every public TV I passed.

I think this event has the potential to be a wake-up call for us in the IT industry, start-up and established players alike.

We can't afford to wait for next-generation energy sources to be discovered, developed, and commercialized. That shift from fossil fuels to green energy will take a generation.

Meanwhile, we have to conserve energy and protect the planet now. And that means we have to establish the next-generation workplace now -- one that makes good use of virtual collaboration technologies to cut fuel-burning, emissions-belching travel. How much of our business travel is actually necessary? I dare say a small fraction of it, once a virtual workplace is factored into the equation.

We need to step up as a society, and show the world it's possible. We need to stop talking about the mobile, high-performance workforce, and start empowering it. And it's not just about flying. It's about driving and railroads, too.

We recently had one of our life sciences customers in the Mid-Atlantic area take stock of how much commuting was going on between their New Jersey and Pennsylvania campuses. It wasn't that far, as the crow flies. But multiply that by thousands of employees, thousands round trips per week, tens of thousands of hours of productivity lost, untold gallons to fill 'er up (along with however many tons of carbon emissions), and now we can say, "Houston, we have a problem."

Most industries are publicly committed to working virtually, whether they call it telecommuting, the mobile workforce, or virtual workplaces. In meetings with top brass at global companies, I hear time and again that "virtual teaming" is a key strategy of these organizations. But the frustration and disillusionment sets in when people attempt to spend a day on platforms such as WebEx, GoToMeeting, etc.

There are two fundamental problems that surface. First there's the notion of spending a day "on" WebEx (or what have you). Whenever you work virtually with a 2-D "flatland" meeting product, you are "on" something but not "in" anything. Second, there's the squishy use of the word "meeting" to describe these tools. In truth, they're not collaboration platforms. They're screen-sharing programs. Big difference.

Compare this conceptually to a 3-D workplace powered by ProtoSphere. The team members are invited "in" to their virtual office. It's a place (not a screen) where they can see their coworkers come and go, sit and talk, share ideas, work on documents and projects together, and collectively tap the businesses other IT assets. They can also work with data in 3-D, as visualizations, gaining perspectives and insights that are simply not available in 2-D.

That's not a sales pitch. It's a definition of the gating factors that dampen the adoption of virtual teaming, and a statement of the opportunity we have to overcome these gating factors -- and the opportunity to have a measurable impact on the environment -- by teaming in 3-D.

We can now work with anyone anywhere, without burning fossil fuels, and without losing our humanity in a 2-D flatland screen share. The time is right for bold business leaders to set the pace, and lead by example. We can empower a massive and highly productive remote workforce with a 3-D high-performance workplace like ProtoSphere. And doing so would have a measurable impact on the planet, not to mention the bottom line.

Dr. Petra Bosch on her ProViWo research project, in her own words

Last week we posted our podcast interview with Dr. Petra Bosch about her latest research project, Professional Collaboration and Productivity in Virtual Worlds (ProViWo). If you're at work right now and unable to pipe sound from your speakers, or if you would rather read through the interview, you're in luck. We've had it transcribed. The transcript includes the complete interview between Dr. Bosch and our blogger Janelle, proofed for clarity.

ProViWo research project: How virtual worlds can be used for professional collaboration

Dr. Petra Bosch

Virtual worlds might traverse the globe, but I've found that they can still fit under a microscope. A virtual microscope, if you will. (What else would you expect anyway? ;-))

Dr. Petra Bosch-Sijtsema and her colleague, Dr. Anu Sivunen, are leading a new research project that studies how virtual worlds can be used for professional collaboration, and if virtual worlds can enhance productivity in globally distributed teams.

They've dubbed their project Professional Collaboration and Productivity in Virtual Worlds (ProViWo). Janelle talked to Dr. Bosch recently about it, and we wanted to share their conversation with you in a podcast.



The project is based out of Aalto University in Finland, where Dr. Bosch and Sivunen are researchers, and is being conducted in close corporation with Stanford University here in the U.S.

Dr. Anu Sivunen

Drs. Bosch and Sivunen began their study in fall 2009, so they're still in their initial research phase. Right now they're interviewing a spectrum of companies that are using virtual worlds.

Eventually, they'll explore managerial and user perspectives on virtual worlds at work, and the various collaboration and productivity possibilities. They aim to complete their project in 2012.

If you're interested in exploring virtual worlds for your company, if you've already deployed one, or if you just want to keep up with the latest industry research developments, I'd encourage you to take a listen to Janelle and Dr. Bosch's podcast.

We hope to follow Drs. Bosch and Sivunen throughout their project, so watch the blog for an update on their progress.

Manage remote workers by building personal relationships

I wanted to share another tip from IBM's Jayne Nanavaty-Dahl about how to implement a successful remote worker strategy in your organization. Her recommendations are taken from lessons she's learned from implementing OTTO (Other Than Traditional Office), IBM's remote worker practice. Today's recommendation is manage workers by building personal relationships.

How to maintain good communications while working remotely

I wanted to pick up where we left off with Jayne Nanavaty-Dahl's guest articles on IBM's OTTO (Other Than Traditional Office) initiative. Last week we shared her article on why IBM decided to implement OTTO. Since launching the initiative in 2007, Jayne has since learned several best practices for running it. Her recommendations are good tid-bits for other organizations interested in starting or improving their remote worker strategy, and we'll be sharing them with you here on the blog. Today we bring you the first one: Communication is key.

What makes IBM's OTTO (Other Than Traditional Office) initiative tick

We learned about IBM's remote worker strategy last month when we interviewed Jayne Nanavaty-Dahl (right), Manager of Workforce Enablement Communications for IBM. The company calls its initiative OTTO, or Other Than Traditional Office, which Jayne started in 2007.

We touched upon many facets of OTTO in our podcast, but if you're interested in more on IBM's strategy, Jayne has supplied us with a couple articles with more details. The first one is below, where she explains IBM's imperative for having a remote worker practice. Next time around, we'll share her recommendations for how to implement such a strategy. So stay tuned!

Transcript of podcast with IBM's Jayne Nanavaty-Dahl on remote working

If you'd rather read our interview with Jayne Nanavaty-Dahl, Manager of Workforce Enablement Communications for IBM, you can check out the transcript.

Remote working can be win-win for employees and companies: A study and recommendations from IBM's Jayne Nanavaty-Dahl

Remote working is a growing business practice with an estimated 10 percent of today's workforce telecommuting. Some companies have partially or completely done away with their physical offices in favor of virtual ones. One of those companies is IBM. Some 15,000 North American employees work remotely under its Other Than Traditional Office (OTTO) initiative.

That's a fast start, considering it launched just about two years ago. I recently talked to the leader behind OTTO, Jayne Nanavaty-Dahl, Manager of Workforce Enablement Communications for IBM. Our podcast is above.

Our conversation would be helpful for anyone interested in starting a telecommuting program or looking for ways to improve one already in place.

Jayne talks about her just-completed study with the Marketing Group at Northeast University's College of Business Administration. (Read about it in MIT Sloan Management Review.) Over the past two years, they have been analyzing remote working strategies at IBM and other organizations. Their goal was to identify employee and organizational challenges with remote working, such as lack of physical interaction and visibility with manager and coworkers, and work-life balance issues.

The researchers also found several management strategies to overcome these challenges, including having managerial flexibility and using online networking tools. It's Jayne's opinion that a remote working strategy is a requisite for large global companies. She herself works from home 80-90 percent of her time, and finds herself to be more productive and efficient, especially because she frequently works with people oversees.

In our podcast, Jayne also provides her recommendations for organizations who want to implement a remote worker strategy. She gives her perspective on whether there's an application for 3-D virtual environments when it comes to remote working.

Telepresence and live video: From intrusion to invaluable

In my last post reacting to the Cisco-Tandberg deal, I promised to explain why Cisco's push to bring video to the desktop won't break out of the enterprise's largest conference rooms.

Here are several reasons why, all of which arise from the human factors of virtual collaboration.

Modern teleworkers don't always dress for success. I'm writing this post, taking calls, and "collaborating virtually" at a time of day when my mind is sharp, but my appearance might not be. Maybe I worked until the wee hours of the morning, caught some sleep, and am now back at it. I might look tired. I might need a shave. I might not be wearing a tie. I might be grabbing breakfast at my desk.

I certainly don't want to be on a video conference right now. Of course, if I knew there was a board meeting, I'd be prepared, and telepresence or other live video would be fine with me. But collaboration mostly happens without an appointment, without a formal meeting, often without advance preparation, at all hours of the day and night.

The last thing most workers want is to have the red light go on when they least expect it, or when they don't believe they are as presentable, appearance wise, as they want to or should be. Human factors 1, telepresence 0.