Information Workers Are Not Quite Ready For Desktop Videoconferencing

Forrester Research's latest survey of North American and European business technology users shows that the workforce overall has little interest in and access to desktop video.

There’s a disconnect between what vendors and executives are pushing and what information workers are looking for, says Forrester analyst T J Keitt. Right now, most of the desktop video conferencing technology is not widespread.

For example, while 33 percent of workers surveyed said their company has desktop video systems, only 15 percent said they had access to them. In addition, it’s the upper-level executives who are most interested in the technology, and who use it most.

Forty-two percent of directors use desktop video conferencing, 40 percent of vice presidents and 38 percent of owners or CEOs, according to Forrester By contrast, only seven percent of individual workers say they use the systems.

In addition, for the time being, interest among those individual workers is low. About 72 percent of workers said they didn’t want desktop video conferencing, compared with 13 percent who don’t have it but do want it. Another 13 percent use it, and while 2 percent said they have desktop video conferencing but don’t use it.

Forrester analyst T J Keitt says “Forrester’s workforce data reveals that most of the workforce doesn’t have access to and isn’t bullish on using desktop video for business purposes.”

The study surveyed more than 5,400 information workers. Fifty-six percent of businesses have deployed a room-based or desktop-based video-conferencing system, Keitt said.

Information Workers Are Not Quite Ready For Desktop Videoconferencing - Forrester Research