How times have changed ... what's the most important office equipment today?

Hint: it sits on top of your desk

13 February 2007 15:15 GMT / By Amber Maitland

The desktop PC and email have been in the top three most important items of office equipment since the 1990s, according to a new survey by YouGov that looks at changing technology in the workspace.

In the 1990s, the 56% of those surveyed said the desktop computer was the most important piece of office equipment, a figure that went up to 61% in the most recent survey.

However, landline phones dropped in popularity from 30% in the 90s to 19% today, while email went up from 25% to 58%.

Internet access wasn't part of the top three most important items in the 90s, but today it's in third place, with 52% of those surveyed saying it's integral to their working lives.

The mobile phone doesn't rate that highly on the list, and comes in at 22%.

The survey is a good reminder of the all the office equipment of the past that is now gathering dust, like telex machines, typewriters, Tipp-Ex, ledger books, and hole punches.

The researchers also questioned respondents on their working habits, with nearly two-thirds saying that they used the latest technology more than 6 hours a day because they believe it helps them make quicker business decisions, create and send correspondence, and look up research material.

Full tags

Hardware, Desktop PCs, Surveys