Enterprise 2.0 Overshadows Web 2.0 as the Latest Buzz

When Enterprise tools 2.0 first hit the arena, the social networking tools usher a different flavor of collaborative behavior across the enterprises. According to a report by Ovum, the social collaborative tools like profiles, wikis, blogs, microblogs, tagging are widely available in Enterprise 2.0 products and embedded in office productivity and they have made significant inroad across the Enterprise.

More rigid groupware and content management solution are unable to produce such a good interaction that Enterprise 2.0 platform did. However, Dr. Steve Hodgkinson, research director, Ovum thinks that the sustainability of Enterprise 2.0 platform may be harder for the organizations. Participation in Enterprise 2.0 platforms can be slow to take off and fragile once the initial impulsive outburst is over. People go to sites like Facebook or MySpace for their own entertainment. But, Enterprise 2.0 platform is designed such a way where particular process and behavior need to be created or nurtured.

“ Not all people will leap to Enterprise 2.0 platforms without training and support. Not everyone in the workplace loves hyper-transparency. It is not OK that 1 per cent write, 9 per cent comment, and 90 per cent passively consume; workplace collaboration needs more pervasive participation to be useful. Not everyone is naturally collaborative – collaborating, or not, is a learned behavior at work. Collaboration doesn’t necessarily “just happen” when a platform is provided,” he added.

Enterprise 2.0 requires different approach to traditional IT system implementation. You can think of an Engineering task like implementing a transaction processing system because the users don’t have any choice. They must use the system to do their jobs. On the contrary, user participation in Enterprise 2.0 platforms is entirely voluntary. People choose to collaborate, or not. If organizations witness disappointing results with enterprise 2.0, they need to take a fresh look in terms of adoption of the platform.