Productivity during remote meetings is of strategic importance to most companies as work becomes increasingly global. To get work done, employees need to exchange ideas and information with their colleagues in different cities and continents.

IBM has workers in 75 countries. Nearly 50 percent of all employees are mobile, working at home or on the road. Employees spend half their workdays in meetings that use technologies to link the participants. Annually they participate in 6 million conference calls.

First Steps
My first step was to learn what improvements IBM employees felt were important. A survey found they wanted more IT choices to accommodate their work styles, and more flexibility in moving between technologies. For example, employees using instant messaging wanted to be able to switch to the phone without wasting time.

Through testing and feedback from 2,500 employees, we added voice capabilities to instant messaging, so that colleagues can click on a phone icon and be connected by telephone. The feature works between computers and can link up to five people in a conference call. By tapping into the experience of early adopters, the plug-in was developed in a few months. It proved so popular it is being deployed to 100,000 employees this year.

Employees are CIOs' secret weapons when expectations are high but resources for IT are limited. Employees are vast sources of knowledge and fresh ideas, helping CIOs harness the power of IT to create new value. At the same time, without grass roots acceptance among employees, technology developed in-house may sit on a desktop, without getting used. I listen to what employees tell me, check metrics daily and watch for emerging trends in this era of high-impact consumer technology.

Today employees decide for themselves what technology they use at home and take those preferences into the work place. Many shop online, use MP3 players and play video games. They approach technology as consumers, not as programmers. Their choices determine whether a new technology gains broad traction. Employees understand what help they need to perform their jobs, whether in sales, marketing or R&D, so they look for the technology they want within the company and in the wider world of the Web.