Enterprise Web 2.0: Building the Next-Generation Workplace – the Driving Force behind Just about Every Aspect of Enterprise Web 2.0, is of Course, the User
The term ‘Enterprise 2.0’ has become the catch-all phrase that describes the wholesale change in enterprise IT thinking. Driven by changing business needs and social factors, organisations are starting to do things differently. Speed, agility, mobility, reuse, and innovation are the transformative drivers that are forcing organisations to push aside old technologies, models, and architectures to make way for the new Web 2.0 world of service-oriented, highly-virtualised, truly-commoditised, and eventually ‘utilitised’ systems and solutions. Social software, collaboration, and real-time communications are pivotal parts of the ‘Enterprise Web 2.0’ story, and these are acting as the conduits for new cultural ideas and practices.
ANALYSIS
Introduction
The term ‘Enterprise 2.0’ has become something of a catch-all phrase that describes the wholesale shift in enterprise IT thinking. Driven by changing business needs and social factors, organisations are starting to do things differently. Speed, agility, mobility, reuse, and innovation are the transformative drivers that are forcing organisations to push aside old technologies, models, and architectures to make way for the new Web 2.0 world of service-oriented, highly-virtualised, truly-commoditised, and eventually ‘utilitised’ systems and solutions.
Vendors and commentators have been appending the ‘2.0’ suffix to all manner of enterprise products and domains over the last year or so in an attempt to signify something new, innovative, and user-focused. The terms ‘BI 2.0’, ‘ERP 2.0’, and ‘CRM 2.0’ have all been used in some way or another to imply ‘next generation’ or ‘leading-edge’, but the term ‘Web 2.0’ remains the touchstone of the IT industry, and use of the term by the IT cognoscenti when discussing a product or service usually infers particular value or importance.
In some circles, the terms ‘Enterprise Web 2.0’ and ‘Enterprise 2.0’ are used interchangeably to describe the application of Web 2.0 ideas and technologies in the enterprise; however, Butler Group believes that a clear distinction exists between the use of these two terms, and that this differentiation is important to maintain, as it enables a more meaningful discussion to be had when examining the future role of IT within the business. We’ve been here once before of course, with the words ‘Web’ and ‘Internet’ being used interchangeably, and this still causes confusion today when IT professionals have conversations with their business counterparts.
Building on the somewhat vague and yet particular usage of the term ‘Web 2.0’, ‘Enterprise Web 2.0’ describes a fresh, and some would say new, approach to the design and provision of business applications that incorporates aspects such as social networking, collaboration, and real-time communication. In addition, Enterprise Web 2.0 focuses a great deal of attention on the user’s ‘experience’ or ‘joy of use’ – something of a novelty in enterprise IT these days. By comparison, when Butler Group talks about ‘Enterprise 2.0’, we are focusing on the composition and architecture of the IT ecosystem, and the associated business models that will support Enterprise Web 2.0 applications.
Business Issues
Although technology certainly plays a part, Enterprise Web 2.0 represents more of a philosophical shift than it does a prescribed set of IT products or solutions. As with the consumer-oriented Web, Enterprise Web 2.0 is very much concerned with the user experience of corporate systems and applications, and on extracting business value from the social contributions and interactions of the organisation’s various stakeholders.
Understanding what experience is expected by which constituency is crucial, and herein lies the challenge for business decision makers.
There are many business drivers associated with the push to adopt Web 2.0 concepts and philosophies, the most important of which relate to the areas of customer service, cost reduction, innovation, risk mitigation, and market opportunities. Each of these can, in turn, be linked with specific pieces of Web 2.0 technology or concepts; however, forming and establishing these links is not a task to be undertaken lightly.
Enterprises can no longer ignore the gravitational pull of Web 2.0 technologies, concepts, and memes, as they are immense. However, Butler Group is witnessing a repeat of history in some cases, as businesses and institutions opt not to invest in this area, as they fail to see the relevance of this sea change to their organisations. This presents something of a concern, because the Web is central to so many aspects of business and commerce. Even the public sector, with its traditionally cautious approach to new technology and process change, has recognised the importance of Web 2.0. Indeed, the people-centric aspect of Web 2.0 probably makes this era of ICT evolution the most relevant yet.
As has already been stated, Enterprise 2.0 is concerned with the composition and architecture of the IT infrastructure that will support Enterprise Web 2.0 applications. In the past, the shape and nature of corporate IT has been determined by a number of factors, most of which related to the very specific nature of the organisation’s business and operational requirements. Enterprise 1.0 was dominated by a handful of powerful vendors and service providers, and most of the systems and applications constructed during this time were siloed. Expensive integration projects were the norm, as IT departments tried to respond to the organisation’s changing business requirements.
The business issues that are forcing IT management to re-evaluate their strategies are of course many and varied, but some common trends have become evident. The management of customer relationships continues to remain pivotal for most organisations, and so the social aspects of Web 2.0 are mirrored in the corporate world of Enterprise Web 2.0. Workforce mobility and changing communication patterns are two more trends that are driving change at the infrastructure layer, and so unified communication and collaboration requirements form an
important part of Enterprise 2.0 strategy.
Risk management and mitigation continues to be a high priority for CEOs, and this has produced a cascade of requirements impacting corporate IT, many of which relate to the governance and control of information. The need to address new markets and the ability to continuously innovate are placing great demands on the IT department, both in terms of skills and resources, and so the ability to mix-and-mach external services from a variety of providers to fulfil business system functional requirements is a major, non-technical element of Enterprise 2.0 strategy.
Technology Issues
Enterprise Web 2.0 might be about putting the user (i.e. employee, customer, or stakeholder) first, but in order to do so it also requires supporting technology. And so at the IT infrastructure level, Enterprise 2.0 means Internet Protocol (IP) everywhere – voice, video, and data. Enterprise 2.0 also means, ‘open’ standards rather than proprietary or ‘closed’ systems. Furthermore, Enterprise 2.0 technology means user-driven technology and not IT-driven technology.
If we take, for example, the implementation of a social networking site, perhaps as a way to enhance customer relationships or to capitalise on the knowledge and know-how of employees, then this requires technology investment in terms of hardware, software, networking infrastructure, and bandwidth. All that technology costs money, and building a cohesive and compelling business plan to warrant such spend is not easy if one considers that we are in some ways still in the experimental phase of Enterprise Web 2.0. Open source advocates might shout about the cost benefits of this increasingly popular software model, but it still needs hardware to run on, and the few open source hardware projects that have been initiated have not yet had the same impact on costs as software initiatives.
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