The 20th century was the Information Age, in which companies with access to the most relevant and timely information would see a significant competitive advantage. But today, what sets successful organizations apart is what they do with the data they have—and that makes the 21st century the Age of Innovation. To be successful, employees must continuously collaborate with one another, as well as with partners, suppliers and customers. When people work together to analyze and act on information in real time, they innovate in ways that one person can rarely pull off alone. Smart companies are looking for ways to empower their people and make the flow of such interactions routine, effective and efficient.
Companies willing to deploy huddle rooms to enable small-group collaboration will see a competitive advantage; in a recent Frost & Sullivan survey of almost 2,000 IT decision makers, 69% of respondents who said they achieved 51 to 100% revenue growth were early adopters of digital transformation. The data is so clear, even the bean counters know it: 74% of the respondents who said they would increase their IT budget by more than 25% in 2018 were early adopters.
But while most companies want to increase collaboration across the organization, few know how to do so in a clear and effective way. The reality is that getting people to work together is often more art than science, involving a complex blend of incentives, cultural change and technology. But creating the right physical environment to enable such change is table stakes. Here are four steps business and IT managers should take to encourage and support collaborative work in 2018 and beyond: state your goals, benchmark your current environment, identify key gaps, and make a clear plan for action.