Dramatic Return on Collaboration Investments

Updated on 24 December 2010 by Lokesh Datta

A just released study by Frost & Sullivan, sponsored by Cisco and Verizon, finds a dramatic return on investment in advanced collaboration tools. The authors developed a model for measuring return on collaboration investment, or the ROC index. They found that companies realized an average ROC of 4.2, meaning a return of four times on collaboration investments.

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Enthusiasts to Laggards

Updated on 24 December 2010 by Lokesh Datta

In one of the first comprehensive studies, according to Cisco, it found that personal attitudes towards collaboration and company collaborative culture are as important as collaborative tools. Four collaboration segments, based on habits and beliefs, are identified as: Enthusiasts, Comfortable, Reluctant and Laggards. This looks quite similar to the Technology Adoption Curve in Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey A. Moore in which the author proposes the following segmentation: Innovators, Early Adopters, Early Majority, Late Majority and Laggards. Does this suggest that Cisco’s Enthusiasts are Moore’s Innovators and Early Adopters?

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Measuring Collaboration

Updated on 24 December 2010 by Lokesh Datta

How does one measure collaboration? One measure obviously is the end product – results and their impact. This however does not provide a measure of collaboration – contribution and performance - of individual collaborators. Individual performance should be measured against expectations, set at the beginning of the process, based on person’s role and expertise. A systematic assessment of enablers, namely process and tools, should also be a part of the review, for continuous improvement and making collaboration as a cultural norm.

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