November 13, 2001
Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:CSCO), the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, today announced the results of an independent study by NOP World-Technology, the first to substantiate productivity gains achieved by organizations using wireless local area network (LAN) technology. The report, entitled "Wireless LAN Benefits Study," documents increased employee productivity, cost savings and other benefits achieved by end users and IT network administrators from more than 300 U.S.-based organizations with 100 or more employees using wireless LANs. Among the most significant results revealed by end users was that using wireless LANs allowed them to stay connected one and three-quarter more hours more each day, amounting to a time savings of 70 minutes for the average user, increasing their productivity by as much as 22 percent.
"Current economic conditions have made productivity and profitability the new benchmarks for business success," said Charles Giancarlo, Senior Vice President of Cisco Systems. "Wireless networking has been viewed as one of the technologies promising the greatest impact on productivity but, until now, no formal studies existed to substantiate the many benefits of wireless LANs. The results of this research show that wireless LANs can have a direct impact on productivity -- and that the benefits are even more significant than they were assumed to be."
Respondents to the NOP World study estimated that wireless networking had a measurable impact on return on investment (ROI), with organizations saving an average of $164,000 annually on cabling costs and labor, more than 3.5 times the amount IT staff had anticipated. These savings did not include the financial benefits of increased productivity, which can increase an organization's return on their wireless LAN investment by thousands or millions of dollars more. Per employee, the annual estimated ROI was $7,550, through a combination of cost savings and productivity gains.
Ben Rogers, Project Manager of the NOP World-Technology study, noted, "This gain in employee efficiency, over $7,000 per user per year, demonstrates the significant productivity enhancements possible through wireless LAN use. Considered on an overall company level, the productivity improvements were worth as much as $6.3 million annually to the average large organizations participating in this study. As wireless LAN infrastructure becomes increasingly ubiquitous within implementing organizations, the productivity gains can be expected to increase even further."
An added benefit of wireless LAN use revealed by the NOP study was greater accuracy in everyday tasks, with nearly two thirds of end user respondents reporting that their accuracy was improved. The average gain in accuracy by those who felt there was an improvement was estimated at 38 percent. For respondents from healthcare organizations, 51 percent felt the improvement in accuracy was "significant." The "anytime, anywhere" aspect of wireless communications allows increased access to accurate information when it is needed most -- with health care, this could mean the difference between a life or death decision.
In addition to concrete business gains, 87 percent of respondents agreed that there is a discernible positive impact in their quality of life from wireless LAN use tied to increased flexibility, productivity and time savings. Employees with a wireless LAN connection can accomplish more in less time, often working from locations outside their immediate offices, leading to the kind of work/life balance and increased satisfaction that supports employee loyalty and retention.
The study was conducted with the Cisco Thought Leadership Network, (TLN), which is dedicated to providing new research findings and innovative ideas about how companies can succeed in the Internet economy. TLN works directly with top thought leaders outside Cisco to understand the evolving market landscape and to develop models and frameworks to leverage emerging trends. Among its programs, the Thought Leadership Network publishes a monthly series of white papers, research studies, best practices, and presentations along with a monthly iQ Thought Leadership Newsletter from CEO John Chambers, highlighting many of the thought leaders, concepts, and research that TLN sponsors. For more information, see
www.cisco.com/go/thoughtleadership.
For more information on the NOP World-Technology survey report, entitled "Wireless LAN Benefits Study," visit http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/tln/WLAN_study.pdf.
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