Executives globally are demanding more unified communications (UC), with most saying that instant messaging, e-mail, phone, video and telepresence helps them be more successful, a study by telecom firm BT on Tuesday said.

According to the study, 84 per cent said unified communication using multiple options like IM, e-mail, phone, video and telepresence helps them be more successful.

The respondents added that they wanted solutions like desktop sharing, unified messaging, video, voice-to-text services and secure cloud storage, it added.

UC technologies optimise convergence of various modes of communication like land lines, mobile phones and Internet allowing delivery of quicker and better decision-making, enhancing collaboration across geographically diverse teams, and improving overall efficiency.

According to estimates, the overall spending on UC in India has been estimated to be over USD 500 million in 2011.

The global survey, involving 1,000 executives working in large enterprises across industry sectors, was done to study the attitudinal and behavioural factors, as well as impacts, linked to changes in working cultures and to the roles of influential groups within the workforce.

The respondents said it is taking too much time, effort and money to collaborate, access data and work as a team.

About 56 per cent said slow decision-making by managers and colleagues is the biggest problem they face at work. In India, the number stood at 64 per cent.

The study said a typical business executive in a large global enterprise claims to be losing 134 minutes per day due to poor communication, collaboration and information flows, which is 25 per cent of a nine-hour working day.

Annually, this represents a loss of USD 25,000 per employee, working on a middle to senior management 'all in' yearly cost of USD 100,000, it added.

The respondents said they feel up to 25 per cent of their time is wasted every day due to poor communication, collaboration and information flows, as well as basic administration tasks.

About 67 per cent said better communication technology helped them manage time better, while 60 per cent said they felt more in control of their work.

The survey said the higher adoption rate of UC in growing economies in Asia and Latin America compared to that in Europe.

Executives in Brazil, China and India appeared more positive of UC, enabling them to develop better products and services.

Real time collaboration across their operations globally is also a driver for UC as 37 per cent of Chinese and 51 per cent of Indian respondents said they are still online for work after 8 pm, compared to the UK (26 per cent) and US (22 per cent).