7 Dec 2011 | Tech Expert Offers Advice to British Company That Plans to Ban E-mail for 80,000 Workers

PRNewswire Dec 7, 2011: Leading unified information access company, Attivio, suggests alternate approach to all-out ban. "Visionary companies must find ways to change the way e-mail is used; not banish it," commented Sid Probstein, Chief Technical Officer at Attivio in response to widely reported news that a 'zero email' policy is underway at one of the world's largest IT companies. Thierry Breton, CEO of British-based Atos, wants to phase out e-mails over the next 18 months.

Probstein offers prescriptive guidance for businesses facing similar challenges. "Workers are drowning in information overload, so Mr. Breton's reaction to the effectiveness and value of e-mail is natural and visceral; but reverting to phone calls and verbal conversations for most internal correspondence is not the answer. The reality is that businesses need to enable efficient collaboration amongst their workers, and they need to preserve and provide access to historical information. Otherwise, they are perpetually re-inventing the wheel each time similar issues arise." ...

Organizations can dramatically reduce e-mail volume by using it where it makes sense, by deploying Traction® TeamPage and other advanced Enterprise 2.0 collaboration tools for specific tasks like project management, discussion groups and exception handling. The federal government, for example, has taken this path to reduce e-mail volume. A recent Department of Defense study reported a 50% reduction in time spent on electronic communications management after implementing Traction in a technology testing program.

"The key to effectively managing e-mail is to retain the right information and enable users to control it as they do any other important corporate resource," explains Probstein. He provides tips for end-users to create value from e-mail:

• Link internal correspondence that relates to external communications from customers and partners;
• Use a Unified information access strategy to identify relevant, messages;
• Secure and index e-mails with other important files, E 2.0 collaboration tools, intranet pages, and content from CMS or competitors' websites;
• Discover e-mail through the normal process of search, running reports, or monitoring dashboards.

Good advice Sid! Read the full Press Release

See also Extending the fabric of work, or How to Be Emergent
Email isn't dead - It's only sleeping