This summer I have been able to work on quite a few projects related to ‘enterprise 2.0’, and more specifically how it is being used in organizations. The last few weeks I’ve been working on pulling together what I’ve observed over my time on these projects and the research that has supplemented it.
The term Enterprise 2.0 is still being defined, or so we like to say, so I will throw out my definition before starting. Enterprise 2.0 is the use of social software and tools (ie. applications, usually web based, that allow people to identify themselves, connect to each other, ask questions, self publish, etc) used to achieve business objectives.
According to that, Enterprise 2.0 is more than just an IT initiative or project, it needs to be an enterprise plan with a strategy and it needs to involve all parts of the organization including but not limited to knowledge management, operations, IT, Human Resources, Communications, and Marketing.
Marketing and Communications seem to build their strategies around what I like to call ‘Social Media’, or 3rd party external sites like facebook & twitter. Usually the strategies are to improve the branding and PR of the organization, and does not directly impact the day to day operations of the employees.
Human Resources, IT, Operations, and Knowledge Management people seem to be interested in a larger enterprise solution. They often turn to internal development, but there are growing offerings by external companies like Jive, Socialtext, etc. The development of these internal systems require large changes in culture and processes and require significant change management support. Of course a robust IT approach is required as well.
I see significant opportunities in both these areas. This seems to be a trend in government, in the consulting industry, and increasingly other industries as well. Here is a small table of some of the examples I’ve read about or heard about.
| Examples | ||
| Company | Platform (s) | Business Need |
| IBM | Beehive, Blue Pages, Sand | Connect a decentralized global community of knowledge workers. Facilitate innovation and networking to create better solutions to the worlds toughest problems |
| Deloitte | D-Street | Encourage networking among employees scattered throughout the United States, and create a platform to engage them for feedback. |
| Booz Allen Hamilton | Hello.bah.com | Facilitate the sharing and creation of documents in a increasingly decentralized work environment |
| Lockheed Martin | Unity | Allow employees to connect to one another and have a workspace to easily collaborate with one another and partners |
| Best Buy | Blueshirtnation.com (BSN) | Capture and share knowledge between employees in stores all over the world, increasing customer service and employee moral |
| Intelligence Community | Intellipedia | A place to publish and track information across several departments and agencies to secure he safety of citizens |
| State Department | Diplopedia | Make available information and knowledge about the department, countries, diplomats, and other affairs |
| Department of Defense | Techipedia | Discussion between engineers and other workers in the Department |
| Cleveland Federal Reserve | N/A | Knowledge sharing among employees |
| Cisco | N/A | A platform for meetings using Cisco technology and encourage and facilitate innovation |
What are other good examples? Have people have observed similar trends?
