NATICK, Mass. -- Sage Research, Inc., in a new comprehensive study of IT decision makers, has found that organizations are realizing productivity benefits from IP Telephony (IPT) deployments that reach far beyond the IT department itself. The study found that while cost savings was cited as an IPT deployment driver by 75% of those surveyed, productivity savings was cited by more than 60%. Most surprising was that the productivity benefits were felt by both IT and non-IT workers. In another unanticipated finding, 66% of the respondents said they perceive IPT deployment as giving them a competitive advantage. The research was based on a quantitative survey conducted among 100 IT decision makers at organizations of various sizes, augmented by qualitative research in the form of three online focus groups. All the organizations had deployed IP Telephony from a variety of vendors for more than one year. “It is no surprise that cost savings is the main driver for an IP Communications deployment. But the extent to which our survey respondents said productivity benefits drive IPT adoption was totally unexpected,” said Kathryn Korostoff, president of Sage Research, Inc. “The most startling non-IT productivity benefit is one that had come up anecdotally in prior research—easier and recurrent workspace relocation—so we designed it into the survey, and it turned out to be the single most frequently reported benefit.”The survey respondents expressed specific IPT productivity benefits for both IT and non-IT employees, and quantified the benefits so that they can be expressed the actual number of hours saved as a result. The examples below express benefits for IT and non-IT employees: Table 1:

Table 2:

“This research shows that the rewards for switching to an IP Telephony system are real and compelling,” said Don Proctor, vice president and general manager of the Voice Technology Group at Cisco Systems, Inc, the leading provider of IP Telephony systems. “The mounting evidence of productivity benefits and cost savings that IP Telephony delivers has created a surge in demand from customers looking for a competitive advantage in today’s business environment. Cisco is committed to delivering a single IP voice, video and data system that provides for business resilience, progressive productivity and mobility.”Sage Research Inc.