2008-07-24 21:03:07 -

www.researchandmarkets.com - Research and Markets (www.researchandmarkets.com/research/c30388/virtual_collaborat) has announced the addition of the "Virtual Collaboration: Enabling Project Teams and Communities" report to their offering.

As organizations have become more dynamic, complex, and global, a new way of working has emerged. Whether due to travel restrictions or geographically dispersed teams and communities, an

increasing number of employees are doing an increasing amount of work virtually. With this trend comes the need for effective collaboration across locations, enterprises, and geographies. The nature of the work in today's organizations may have been the initial driver for virtual collaboration, but recent economic challenges have forced organizations to further explore and leverage alternatives to either dispersed employees or face-to-face meetings. Through this exploration, many organizations quickly discovered a wealth of tools promising to help people connect and collaborate regardless of their physical location. Yes, the tools have become more sophisticated. However, the technology is only part of the virtual collaboration equation and is not the solution.

From the beginning, the study sponsors realized that the selection of a virtual collaboration tool would not be the "magic bullet" to creating a successful virtual work environment. The study sponsors wanted to learn from best-practice organizations how to effectively structure virtual teams or communities, identify the measures of success for virtual collaboration, and identify factors affecting an organization's choice of technology to support virtual collaboration. This consortium benchmarking study was launched to identify best practices in inventing and improving virtual collaboration approaches while retaining the benefits and characteristics of effective teams and communities from previous organizational forms.

As organizations do more of their work and collaboration virtually, they need a new set of skills, techniques, and guidelines. Organizations succeeding at virtual collaboration have designed appropriate business and knowledge processes, created thoughtful policies, and monitored process implications and outcomes. They understand the pace at which virtual collaboration is comfortably absorbed by the organization and have deployed the necessary infrastructure to support repeated successes. They have trained their team leaders and members to deal with the unique challenges of working in a virtual environment, and they are getting desired results and benefits from this way of working.

Key Topics Covered:

Executive Summary

Study Findings:

Chapter 1: Virtual Collaboration Overview

Chapter 2: Strategies and Enablers for Effective Virtual Collaboration

Chapter 3: Preparation for Effective Virtual Collaboration

Chapter 4: Supporting Effective Virtual Collaboration

Chapter 5: Measuring the Impact of Virtual Collaboration

Partner Organization Case Studies:

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.

Cisco Systems Inc.

MWH Global Inc.

The St.Paul Companies

Index

Companies Mentioned:

- Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc.

- Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.

- Cisco Systems Inc.

- MWH Global Inc.

- The St.Paul Companies

For more information visit www.researchandmarkets.com/research/c30388/virtual_collaborat.

Research and Markets
Laura Wood
Senior Manager
Fax from USA: 646-607-1907
Fax from rest of the world: +353-1-481-1716
press@researchandmarkets.com