GLOBAL SURVEY PREDICTS UPSURGE IN TELEWORK

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GLOBAL SURVEY PREDICTS UPSURGE IN TELEWORK

Sixty four percent of companies identified enhanced

productivity as the top benefit of telework

BEDMINSTER, NEW JERSEY, Jul. 15 -/E-Wire/-- Business will see a major growth in teleworking over the next two years according to a new AT&T; survey conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

The survey indicates more than 80 percent of companies worldwide expect to have employees who telework or work remotely in the next two years, up from 54 percent today. And even though only 13 percent of companies offer financial and material help to teleworkers currently, that number will rise to about 32 percent in 2005.

The top three drivers of this 26 percent jump in telework cited by the 237 senior executives surveyed by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the business information arm of The Economist magazine, are better network access from remote locations (62 percent), better communications facilities (62 percent) and globalization of business operations (48 percent).

Although 64 percent of companies identified enhanced productivity as the top benefit of telework, more than half (56 percent) reported difficulty in monitoring the output of remote workers as the biggest obstacle to telework. The Economist Intelligence Unit report warns that those companies that cannot meet the supervisory and security challenges posed by remote working should be concerned, as remote working is just one facet of a larger strategic trend toward ubiquitous network access.

The Economist Intelligence Unit report also suggests that enterprises today are increasingly "net-centric"âorganized around networks rather than buildings. Robust corporate intranets are enabling employees to access significant amounts of company information electronically through enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management applications.

"Telework is a growing trend that's providing real value to AT&T; and to our customers," said Brad Allenby, vice president, AT&T; Environment, Health and Safety. "We share our telework expertise with our business customersâone of the many ways we help them remain world-class competitors in an increasingly difficult and complex knowledge economy."

In AT&T;'s own telework survey of its management employees, one-third of managers report they work remotely at least once a week, a four-fold increase during the last 10 years. And 17 percent of AT&T;'s management employees now work in full-time virtual offices with no dedicated office spaceâalmost double the results in 2001. The company has conducted annual surveys of its own management telework trends since 1992, exploring the benefits to the company, employees and society.

"With teleworkers influencing more than $50 billion of business information technology expenditure in the U.S., enabling companiesâlarge and smallâto leverage the power and flexibility of telework programs is an important opportunity for service providers today", said Kneko Burney, chief market strategist for In-Stat/MDR. "AT&T; is in a unique position. The company can offer best-in-class access and managed services for the at-home workforce, in addition to proven experience, having managed its own successful telework program for more than a decade."

AT&T;'s network-based structure generated over $150 million in business benefit to AT&T; in 2002 by increasing productivity, reducing overhead costs such as real estate, and enhancing retention and recruitment.

Remote working also helps the environment, AT&T;'s Allenby said. Last year alone, the company's teleworking employees avoided commuting over 154 million miles to work, saving approximately 7.4 million gallons of gasoline and over 70,000 tons of carbon dioxide from being emitted into the air.

The emergence of Internet Protocol virtual private networks is allowing companies to extend existing networks easily, securely and cost-effectively to remote employees. Additionally, the increasing availability of affordable broadband connections in employees' homes is fostering more confidence in remote work.

For executive summaries of AT&T;'s internal telework research and the Economist Intelligence Unit's global survey, as well as the Top Ten Telework Tips, visit http://www.att.com:9001/presskit/telework/.

Survey & Research Methodology: The Economist Intelligence Unit conducted a worldwide survey of 237 executives from around the world with respondents from Western Europe (30%), North America (26%) and Asia Pacific (26%). Other respondents came from Eastern Europe, Latin America the Middle East and Africa. Over 80% of respondent companies operated in multiple countries. The top five industry sectors represented include business & information technology, software, financial services, manufacturing, and healthcare/pharmaceuticals. In addition to the survey research, the EIU conducted a series of one-to-one in-depth interviews with senior executives worldwide. All the research took place between March and June 2003.

About AT&T;: AT&T; (www.att.com) is among the premier voice, video and data communications companies in the world, serving businesses, consumers, and government. The company runs the largest, most sophisticated communications network in the U.S., backed by the research and development capabilities of AT&T; Labs. A leading supplier of data, Internet and managed services for the public and private sectors, AT&T; offers outsourcing and consulting to large businesses and government. The company is a market leader in local, long distance and Internet services, as well as transaction-based services like prepaid cards, collect calling and directory assistance. With approximately $37 billion of revenue, AT&T; has approximately 40 million residential customers and 4 million business customers, who depend on AT&T; for high-quality communications. AT&T; has garnered several awards for outstanding performance and customer service.

The Economist Intelligence Unit: The Economist Intelligence Unit (www.eiu.com) is the business information arm of The Economist Group, publisher of The Economist. Through its global network of over 500 analysts, the Economist Intelligence Unit continuously assesses and forecasts political, economic and business conditions in nearly 200 countries. As the world's leading provider of country intelligence, the Economist Intelligence Unit helps executives make better business decisions by providing timely, reliable and impartial analysis on worldwide market trends and business strategies.

AT&T; Environment, Health & Safety

Kathy Miller, [REDACTED-PHONE], [REDACTED-EMAIL] or Niall Hickey, 44-[REDACTED-PHONE], [REDACTED-EMAIL]

http://http://www.att.com

http://http://www.eiu.com

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