The ease-to-use so carefully developed by consumer technology companies should point the way for business software developers, argues new research from Global Graphics, a developer of edocument and printing software.

UK plc loses an estimated £63bn a year because office workers find it difficult to use business software. Equivalent to a wasted 2.8bn hours.

Over three quarters (77 per cent) of UK office workers say they have found business software difficult to use. The two most common complaints are that software applications offer too much functionality, and a lack of training.

“Organisations invest millions on training their employees how to use business software. Yet employees are using Facebook, Myspace, iPhones and digitalizing their music without any training at all,” says Gary Fry, CEO, Global Graphics.

The research also shows that office workers are frustrated that software developers are not putting in enough effort to make sure their software is easy to use. Far from suffering technophobia, office workers say that consumer technology such as iPods, digital cameras and games consoles are easier to use than technology in the office.

Which technologies do you find easiest to use?
Source: Global Graphics

“Consumer technology companies make money by attracting as many users as possible and that means making products easy to use. By making business software as easy to use as consumer technology, employees are more efficient and less frustrated while companies benefit from lower training costs and higher productivity,” argues Fry.

A surprisingly high 69 percent of office workers estimate they lose up to an hour every working week as a result of business software being difficult to use, with a further 23 per cent saying they lose up to five hours every week.

The sheer number of different applications and the way different office applications work with each other is a prime reason for the losses. Office workers have to draw information from an ever-increasing range of sources, in a range of different and evolving formats. Yet 56 per cent of office workers say they would find it difficult to take pages of information from a variety of different file formats and combine them into a new document.

 “The warning to developers of business software is clear; take a leaf out of the consumer world and make your software easier to use. Make sure it quickly and easily does exactly what the user wants, and focus on that instead of adding more and more features and functions that only a handful of ‘power-users’ will ever need,” cautions Fry.

Editors notes

About Global Graphics
Global Graphics (http://www.globalgraphics.com) is a leading developer of e-document and printing software. It provides high-performance solutions to the graphic arts/commercial print and digital print markets and for knowledge worker and professional software applications. The company’s customers include Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), system integrators, software developers and resellers and number the world’s leading brands of digital pre-press systems, large-format colour printers, colour proofing systems, digital copiers and printers for the corporate and SOHO (Small Office / Home Office) markets, as well as a wide variety of market leading software applications.

Note to editors
£63bn figure calculated as follows:
·        According to the research respondents, on average 111 mins is wasted per working week as a result of difficult to use business software
·        That represents 5.1% of the working week (according to the research respondents, the average working week is 36.27 hours)
·        UK GDP for 2008 was £1,275,175, 000,000 (Office of National Statistics), five per cent of which is £63,758,750,000 (£64bn)

2.8bn hours wasted a year calculated as follows:
·        According to the research respondents, on average 111 mins is wasted per working week as a result of difficult to use business software
·        111 min x 52 weeks in a year = 5772 mins per year
·        The UK has a working population of 29m people (Office of National Statistics)
·        5772 mins x 29m people in work = 167,388,000,000 mins
·        167,388,000,000/60 = 2,789,800,000 hours

The research for Global Graphics was carried out online by Opinion Matters / Tickbox.net between 10 / 02 / 2009 and 19 / 02 / 2009 amongst a nationally representative sample of 1013 UK office workers.

Youtube statement from Gary Fry:
http://www.youtube.com/user/GlobalGraphicsTV

Contact