April 07, 2008
How Web 2.0 Makes Inroads to the Enterprise
In place of social networking and content sharing sites, enterprises embrace Web 2.0 approaches to collaboration and knowledge-sharing.
Analysts have predicted that 2008 would see the adoption of more Web 2.0 approaches to technology, particularly in the areas of web-based applications, social networking, and wikis.
Three years after the term was coined, the rate of adoption of Web 2.0 technologies by enterprises is surprisingly slow due to reservations related to security and privacy. It has been a common practice among companies to block popular content sharing and social networking sites to prevent employees from “wasting” company hours or sharing sensitive corporate information online. Still, blogging, networking and knowledge sharing blazed through much of the last three years.
Tech companies and various enterprises have realized the need to provide Web 2.0-like experiences related to information dissemination and application development, as well as structure internal communication practices that mimic crowdsourcing and collective knowledge formation. Forrester reported that 24% of businesses would implement Web 2.0 software throughout 2008.
Microsoft’s SharePoint is one of the leading enterprise applications that harness Web 2.0 practices with its blogging, collaborative project management, wiki, content sharing, and other publishing features. By partnering with Socialtext and Atlassian, Microsoft souped up SharePoint’s Web 2.0-like features with a social networking pack that allows users to create profiles and build connections. The tech giant’s Word 2007 has an advanced feature that powers bloggers to use the application’s standard word processing, editing and formatting modules, and then directly publish copies online as blogs.
Microsoft’s competitors are not far behind. IBM’s Lotus Connections is a “social software” that is a by-product of its own employees’ need to locate each other’s information. The software soon developed not only as a directory, but also as a platform for building employees’ profiles, skills and reporting structures. Just like a typical social networking application, Connections features blogging, community building, shared bookmarking, and collaborative content management.
To support the release of Connections, IBM launched its Web 2.0 Goes to Work initiative to promote Web 2.0 approaches as ways to drive innovation among global workers.
Instead of clogging email inboxes with newsletters, business management can take advantage of RSS technologies that allow for better access to the latest company updates. RSS, tagging, and social bookmarks also gauge which information are most relevant or interesting to employees.
Wikis or Twikis, are perhaps the most useful among code-writers who wish to share and review their work to peers. Wikis are a way for a number of users to fill out a blank web (or wiki) page with content, edit information, and even discuss issues. Wikis are also almost free and easy to deploy even in the enterprise.
Instead of blocking employees from getting into the Web 2.0 groove, CIOs need to rethink the way these technologies positively affect enterprises. Popular social networking sites, such as MySpace, Facebook, or Digg may not be best positioned to provide the experiences that enhance the way workers perform their IT duties, but companies can still learn from the way workers—particular Generation Y’ers—spend time online.
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