Working smart

IBM Global Business Services Executive Report

Working smarter

IBM Institute for Business Value

A new way of working
Insights from global leaders

IBM Institute for Business Value

IBM Global Business Services, through the IBM Institute for Business Value, develops fact-based strategic insights for senior executives around critical public and private sector issues. This executive report is based on an in-depth study by the Institute’s research team. It is part of an ongoing commitment by IBM Global Business Services to provide analysis and viewpoints that help companies realize business value. You may contact the authors or send an e-mail to [e-mail] for more information.

Introduction

By Nancy Pearson, Eric Lesser and Joel Sapp

Institute for Business Value, organizations that are significantly outperforming their industry peers also happen to be making more headway on newer approaches to work. They’re using dynamic, collaborative and connected ways of working to get things done effectively within a constantly changing environment. But most organizations are not yet meeting their ambitions in these areas. For those at the forefront and those lagging behind, this research offers insights into the critical practices and technologies that are fundamentally changing the nature of work.
In spite of – and perhaps because of – an increasingly complicated and constantly changing business environment, organizations are under intense pressure to get work done faster, cheaper and more effectively. The basic mechanics of work as we know it are being redefined. “Work” is no longer bounded by coworker proximity or time zone. It also involves a much broader set of “workers” – not just employees, suppliers and partners, but customers, freelancers and an increasingly capable network of smart devices and interconnected systems, all tied together by business processes that span organizations, time and distance. Based on our ongoing research and