As Gartner puts it "The journey to digital business is a team sport." The days when people worked heads-down in cubes by themselves is quickly giving way to a more interactive business world. Teamwork is more relevant -and prevalent -than ever before. And it extends beyond employees and the walls of the organization to partners, customers, and more.

This is one place where executives and employees agree. Digital technology makes the difference. In fact, 88% of CEOs believe digital technologies are creating high value in operational efficiency. Meanwhile, 91% of employees believe digital technology can transform the way they work for the better.

So how do you find the right technology to support that shift? First, it's important to find out two things:

#1. What do people need?Harvard Business Review Analytic Services (HBRAS) recently asked executives to identify the top aspects of collaboration that support business success. The top three responses were effective team communication (72%); collaborating with partners, customers, and experts (68%); and the ability to find experts and information quickly (56%).

#2. What gets in the way?Finding the right tools to meet these needs hasn't been easy. Or an application doesn't deliver on its promise when you put it in the hands of employees. Why? Many times it's a matter of simplicity. Or the lack of it. HBRAS researchers asked executives to identify where typical collaboration tools fail:

• 44% - Used too little by employees
• 38% - Not integrated with other business processes, or overly siloed
• 35% - Not aligned with user workstyles/ preferences

Cisco designed Cisco Spark to address the things that get in the way. It's designed to make these issues disappear. That's a good thing. It means teams can focus on what they're doing, not the tools they're using to do it. Integrate Cisco Spark with your existing tools and the way people actually work. Use bots to help automate your work. Help bring teams together. It's not about telling employees to adapt a whole new paradigm. It's about giving them tools to simplify the way they interact and move work forward.

It's having everything you need in one place wherever you are:

• Meetings
• Messaging and content sharing
• Calling
• White boarding

At the end of the day, you're giving people what they need. New tools can spark new ways of working together. And new ways of working together can help stimulate new ideas. And that's what teamwork and innovation are all about.

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Cisco Spark Plus is a business messaging app, conferencing solution, and phone system all in one. Learn how a free trial of Cisco Spark Plus can help you explore more about how teamwork is changing -and what you can do to stay ahead.

 

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Harvard Business Review Analytic Services surveyed 300+ worldwide execs, revealing teams are paramount to business success.
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