Adding Structure to Chaos
Is Enterprise 2.0 a shooting star to be replaced by something yet to be defined? Social media is embraced by the individual Internet user, but determining the value of social media that results in business value is hard to quantify. Organizations are facing continuing challenges to their market and competitive position. Incremental improvements through the use of technology have value but the need to transform their businesses must encompass using all their resources to meet the challenges. This becomes the value of Enterprise 2.0.
There are several inherent issues that raise concerns for organizations. Security, protection of confidential information, and adding structure to potential chaos are key considerations in implementing Enterprise 2.0. Surprisingly, according to Forrester, 50% of business make use of Enterprise 2.0 software, but employees access remains low. The E20 adoption council (Information Architected Inc., 2009) reports that 72% of organizations reported resistance from users, and only 32% overcame it.
The business imperatives driving these issues are:
• Deploying social media tools that deliver business value
• Staff participation
• Protection of confidential corporate information
• Simplicity of tools
Practical social media and collaboration tools must be embedded into the business process flow rather than as an add-on application requiring more work for the end user. The success of Enterprise 2.0 is fully dependent on end user acceptance and requires a proactive approach by the organization to encourage participation. Once accepted, the value of Enterprise 2.0 can be achieved and becomes self-sustaining and grows virally. The use of Concept Searching technologies, provides the overall structure of social media applications, and the ability to transparently integrate with business processes, exposing the value of Enterprise 2.0 in a controlled and useful way.
