By Dror Orbach

Does it seem like people are busier than they used to be? Though the concept of “business hours” still applies, it’s quickly becoming obsolete. Real-time business communication across all times zones is the new normal, thanks to the interconnectedness that ubiquitous mobile technology and social media adoption has brought. Communications no longer stop when the traditional workday ends.

A recent whitepaper, “Real Time Business,” produced by Oxford Economics, (http://goo.gl/GnXrr)

explores this new interconnectedness of global markets and cultures, how it has created an explosion of accessible information, and how this dramatic increase in the pace of our lives is likely to affect our businesses, our customer service models and our work-life balance.

The whitepaper points out how this new communications model is even changing the way news is reported and shared, highlighting how news stories are often now “broken” by average people on Twitter before any media has had the chance to report on it. For example, when a plane made an emergency landing on New York’s Hudson River, it only took three minutes for a passenger to tweet about it to the rest of the world.

The adoption of these communication models has also dramatically increased the pace of business and client/customer expectations. People expect and demand to have their issues responded to and dealt with right away. Your company will have to keep up and be able to deliver with fast action and rapid decisions. Is your company prepared? In the whitepaper, Oxford Economics surveyed executives of different business verticals, and found that their answers were mixed.

While nearly all respondents agree that 24/7 communications are critical, only one-third of businesses have already implemented real-time business applications in some way (though 65% of those who have not yet implemented real-time systems expect to do so within five years).

Is your company ahead of the curve in adopting real-time operations?