In a survey of 500 business decision-makers in the UK on productivity and remote security, Wire has found that despite little time to prepare, over half (53%) say they’ve seen either an increase or no change in the productivity of office workers since lockdown measures were enacted across the UK in March. Only 13% of business decision-makers reported a significant decrease in productivity, while 25% reported a slight decrease in productivity.

The research commissioned by Wire, the collaboration platform, found that only 17% of UK business decision-makers had identified security as the most important factor when deciding which messaging and collaboration platform to use for remote working, meaning that 83% are prioritising other criteria.

Ease of use was identified as the most important factor by just under a quarter of business decision-makers (24%), with video meetings selected as the most important factor by 19%. Only 10% of UK business decision-makers cited cost as the most important factor, demonstrating the willingness to invest in technologies that provide productivity value.

“We’ve always understood that the future of work is outside of the four walls of the company. The past several months have demonstrated that even without any preparation at all, companies can maintain and even increase productivity while working from anywhere,”  stated Wire CEO Morten Brøgger. “Yet, the importance of security in facilitating remote working cannot be understated. Just as we adjust our personal safety in the current environment, so must we work to ensure our professional safety in a future of work context.”

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, it was estimated that cybercrime was poised to cost the global economy $6 trillion by 2021. Given that so many businesses are adjusting to new remote working models, cybercrime is likely to rise. By choosing a business collaboration solution built with security at the outset, governments and enterprises around the world will not only protect themselves against data breaches caused by bad actors but can also mitigate the astronomical cost of this global burden.

The survey was conducted among 500 business decision-makers in the UK as part of Sapio Research’s COVID-19 B2B tracker.

The interviews were conducted online by Sapio Research on behalf of Wire in April 2020 (Fieldwork ran from 24th to 28th April) using an email invitation and an online survey.

Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results. In this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 4.4 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample.

Sample was selected from online partner panels.