According to the survey - conducted among 101 corporate treasurers, asset managers and investment banking intermediaries - sell-side organisations that invest in technology to promote collaborative working will enjoy a competitive advantage over less technically-endowed rivals. US institutions in particular are consistently more favourably inclined towards ‘new’ technologies and the potential benefits – such as the Internet, SMS messaging, PDAs, ECNs and video – than their UK counterparts.

Three fifths of respondents agreed that the potential of IT and new communication channels to deliver service improvements has yet to be realised by sell-side companies. Moreover, almost all (94%) agree that better integration of these multiple channels – and a subsequent improvement in the consistency of information received – will improve the service the sell-side is able to provide.

Allan Hyde, research director at Mori comments: "There is strong buy-side demand for benefits associated with collaborative trading. The sell-side organisations that establish a competitive advantage will be those who, among other things, successfully integrate multiple communications channels and the way information and knowledge is shared across their organisation."

Voice communication from the office is still seen as the most effective channel for receiving sell-side information (90%), closely followed by email (78%). Other important channels include Bloomberg or equivalents (64%) and face-to-face communication (56%).

The buy-side is equally split between those saying increased market complexities have increased the need for audio/video conferencing and those saying it has not. Over half (56%) agree market complexities will increase the need for audio/video conferencing in the future.

For three-quarters of respondents, the main benefits to be gained through the integration of multiple channels of communication will be better information flow and increased sell-side responsiveness. A majority (56%) also believe such integration will allow them to be more mobile, enabling them to work from different locations.

Other than quality of execution, respondents agree that the most important attributes when choosing a sell-side firm are: responsiveness (81%), knowing about your company and individual needs (74%), flow of information (72%) and direct access to informed relevant contacts (70%). In each of these areas, at least 83% of buy-side institutions agree improvements in existing sell-side service levels can be made.

A key criterion for sell-side selection is knowledge about the client company and their needs. The survey identified only 9% of clients are getting the service they need, particularly when talking to a team member who is not the primary contact for that institution.