Collaboration is fast becoming a buzzword among chief executives as a means to improve business and win new customers, according to a report.

The survey Getting Serious About Collaboration: How Companies are Transforming Their Business Networks, conducted by BusinessWeek Research Services (BWRS) and commissioned by SAP, revealed that many respondents from global companies are planning to expand their collaboration efforts even further over the next three years.

Around half of the respondents from companies such as Lego and Cisco also said they are counting on partners for R&D, manufacturing, marketing, logistics, distribution, customer service, HR or other functions, and two-third expect to be reliant on third parties for these functions to some extend by 2011.

According to the survey, collaboration is also a priority of the SME respondents (companies with up to 1,000 employees). These companies recognise the need for collaboration as a means to growth. Nearly twice as many SMEs are expecting to rely more heavily on collaboration in the next three years.

Zia Yusuf, executive vice president of the global ecosystem and partner group at SAP, said: “The findings of this survey confirm that collaboration is being increasingly recognised as a pathway to growth, innovation and competitive differentiation.”