Member Article

Email popularity overtakes phones

Email has overtaken the telephone as a communication tool in the workplace, according to research released this week. Other electronic communication tools are also reaching being picked up by office workers, according to the figures from IT services firm Dimension Data.

The research reveals that 100% of the users surveyed use email, followed by landline telephones (80%), mobile telephones (76%) and instant messaging (66%). The research also pointed out that the three most popular technologies also increase productivity the most. Over 70% of those surveyed said email impacts positively on their productivity, followed by telephones (53%) and mobile telephones (52%).

Rob Lopez, Managing Director, Solutions at Dimension Data said: “The increase in email usage is widening the personal communication gap. In other words, people would rather email than speak to each other on the telephone. This raises questions about how effective and meaningful email communication is when dealing with problem resolution and discussing complex issues. Also, email communication can be considered less secure. This could have a negative impact on productivity as end-users struggle to deal with growing volumes of emails.”

From a productivity point-of-view, the research shows that instant messaging and blogs are considered most disruptive, and could negatively impact productivity if not managed properly.

For more information, go to www.dimensiondata.com.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .