Knowledge workers often seek unconventional and potentially risky “workarounds” to complete tasks, says Economist Intelligence Unit

Despite an abundance of data, knowledge workers continue to struggle to locate the information they need in a timely manner, according to Enterprise Knowledge Workers: Understanding Risks and Opportunities, a research study from the Economist Intelligence Unit sponsored by SAP. As a result, 57% of survey respondents feel they do not have ready access to all of the information they need to perform their roles, and 71% must find “workarounds” to complete their tasks. The survey polled knowledge workers of various industries and company sizes from around the globe on their experiences relating to collaboration and data sharing across the enterprise.

These “workarounds” are often the product of well-intentioned employees, yet their efforts can pose potential risks to the enterprise, including improper accounting or reporting practices, failure to meet regulatory compliance standards, and even security breaches.

To address these issues, companies should aim to provide easier access to data across disciplines and functional boundaries and better collaboration tools to improve communication between teams. “These steps will ensure that knowledge workers are better supported without thwarting necessary enterprise policies,” says Debra D’Agostino, senior technology editor at the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Additional key findings of the survey include:

• Knowledge work extends broadly across all industrial sectors, and characterises enterprise processes up and down the value chain. This work requires ready access to a variety of different types of information and data, both structured and unstructured, and supports problem-solving, decision-making and decision support processes.
• To do their jobs, knowledge workers use the gamut of different media and technology available to them. Driven by the demands of their jobs, enterprise workers will use whatever means available—including traditional formats like face-to-face meetings, and more recent innovations such as mobile text messaging (SMS)—to seek out, access, process and analyse data. Knowledge workers choose their means of data search, access and processing based not on leading-edge technology but on a more complex set of factors, including quality, immediacy and the availability of information. In fact, in-person meetings rated as valuable or highly valuable among 86% of respondents, more than any other method.
• Knowledge workers routinely rely on disparate sources of primarily unstructured data to obtain key information needed to make critical business decisions. This places unique and complex demands on workers, particularly because so much of the information that they are asked to collect is unstructured, residing in word-processed documents, e-mails and other tools: 47% of our survey respondents report that as much as 75% of the information that they need day-to-day is unstructured.
• To realise fully the contributions of these workers, enterprise IT planners must better understand the needs and problems associated with this new way of working. Because it improves their own efficiency and the quality of their work, knowledge workers respond positively to efforts to facilitate collaboration and the search for and access to data and information. When asked how confident they are that their company’s technologies and processes will meet their needs within the next three years, more than one-half expressed confidence.

“Typically, knowledge workers live in a world of unstructured data and free-flowing processes,” said Doug Merritt, executive vice president of Business User Development and corporate officer of the SAP Group. “The results of this study confirm the importance of giving knowledge workers increased, secure access to the information in the applications they use today.“

Enterprise Knowledge Workers: Understanding
Risks and Opportunities
is available free of charge at: www.eiu.com/knowledgeworkers

For further information please contact:

Economist Intelligence Unit
Joanne McKenna +44 (0)20 7576 8188 or joannemckenna@eiu.com
Debra D’Agostino + 1 212 698 9751or debradagostino@eiu.com

Notes for editors

About the survey
The research is based on a global survey of 560 senior executives from various industries and companies with annual revenues ranging from less than $500 million to as much as $20 billion. The survey was conducted in July and August 2007.

About the Economist Intelligence Unit
The Economist Intelligence Unit is the world leader in global business intelligence. It is the business-to-business arm of The Economist Group, which publishes The Economist newspaper. The Economist Intelligence Unit provides geopolitical, economist and business analysis on more than 200 countries, as well as strategic intelligence on key industries and management practices. With over 300 full-time professionals in 40 offices around the world, supported by a global network of more than 700 contributing analysts, the Economist Intelligence Unit is widely known for its unparalleled coverage of major and emerging markets. More information about the Economist Intelligence Unit can be found at www.eiu.com.

About SAP
SAP is the world’s leading provider of business software*. Today, more than 43,400 customers in more than 120 countries run SAP® applications—from distinct solutions addressing the needs of small businesses and midsize companies to suite offerings for global organizations. Powered by the SAP NetWeaver® technology platform to drive innovation and enable business change, SAP software helps enterprises of all sizes around the world improve customer relationships, enhance partner collaboration and create efficiencies across their supply chains and business operations. SAP solution portfolios support the unique business processes of more than 25 industries, including high tech, retail, financial services, healthcare and the public sector. With subsidiaries in more than 50 countries, the company is listed on several exchanges, including the Frankfurt stock exchange and NYSE under the symbol “SAP.” (Additional information at http://www.sap.com)

(*) SAP defines business software as comprising enterprise resource planning and related applications such as supply chain management, customer relationship management, product life-cycle management and supplier relationship management.

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