By Sadiq Malik ( Senior Consultant MEA
Informa )
Enterprise 2.0 is a push toward
integrating the social and collaborative tools of Web 2.0 into the office
environment. It is also a fundamental change in how businesses operate it cuts
the chains that hold back collaboration in a traditional office environment. In
an Enterprise 2.0 structure, information flows laterally as well as up and down
as structured order creates controlled chaos . Enterprise 2.0 has the potential
to provide knowledge and content management in a surprisingly cheap and easy
fashion using Web-based tools.
The
Enterprise 2.0 Tools
Enterprise 2.0 tools make it easier
to share and organize information. Tagging and rating provide a straightforward
way to find content and make judgments about what to look at. Blogs and wikis
are natural collaboration and communication platforms. Social network tools
help staff find the right individual or group of people.
The
Wiki
One of the most
popular forms of Enterprise 2.0 is the business wiki. The wiki is a
tried-and-true collaborative system that is just as good for small tasks, like
keeping up with a staff directory or a dictionary of industry jargon, as it is
with large tasks, like charting the development process of large products or
holding online meetings.
The
Blog
While
wikis get a lot of press, blogs can also provide a great role in an
organization. For example, a human resources blog can be used to host company
memos and frequently asked questions can be quickly asked and answered in the
blog comments.
Social Networking
Social networking provides a great
interface for Enterprise 2.0. As the efforts to implement Enterprise 2.0 into a
corporate intranet grow, traditional interfaces for operating the intranet can
become unwieldy.
Enterprise 2.0 - Social Bookmarking
The process of tagging and storing
documents can become an important aspect of Enterprise 2.0 as the social and
collaborative efforts successfully grow the intranet into a primary resource
for the company. Social bookmarking allows a person not only to store important
documents and pages, but to do so using a very flexible organizational system
that will quickly allow them to put a document into multiple categories if
needed.
Micro-blogging
While it is easy to think of sites
like Twitter as an fun way to waste a little time, they actually provide a
great blueprint for greater communication and collaboration. Micro-blogging can
be used to let teammates know what you are working on and to quickly
communicate and organize a group.
Mashups and Applications
Office 2.0 applications can also
provide a pivotal role in Enterprise 2.0. Online word processors allow for easy
collaboration on documents, and online presentations can allow for quick access
from anywhere in the world without the hassle of installed software and
up-to-date data files.
Implementing Enterprise 2.0
There is no such thing as an
one-step-Enterprise-2.0-approach. Even with a cultural change objective and
initiative upfront – the critical masses for the adoption have to be build up
and carefully evolved to leverage the benefits of the network afterwards. Starting
small gives you a chance to see how people react to the tools, how to manage
the process and develop a social system for engaging in this “ social inline
fun “ fashion Ideally after completion of your
internal "Beta" project when employees are comfortable making
entries, responding to one another, leaving comments and organizing the
content, one can think about how to expand the effort to include other
Enterprise 2.0 tools, such as ratings and bookmarks.
The
Role of Telcos
Current Telco mainstream offerings
to the Enterprise market are based around capacity and hosted services,
sometimes complemented by IT outsourcing projects. The challenge for the
carriers (and particularly the mobile operators) up to now has been how to
offer services that can deepen the relationship with the Enterprise through
increasing the scope of their service offering.
Telco 2.0 and Web 2.0 components
creates more value to the Enterprise . For example Telco resources can be
embedded with the Enterprise applications to identify the real time location
and distribution of a service engineer’s customers (using Google Maps and
Location feeds) to view the geography of the area covered.
The potential for improved customer
retention is one of the main benefits. Increased revenues by offering higher
value services by demonstrating to Enterprise customers that combining real
time network knowledge and communications with Enterprise application logic can
reduce costs, improve effectiveness and efficiency and increase sales.
Enterprise ICT Africa
Enterprise ICT Africa is co-located with Africa’s largest and most
well respected communications conference and exhibition, AfricaCom.
Attendees to Enterprise ICT Africa will benefit from valuable, relevant
learning amongst a select group of 200 ICT decision-makers, alongside
networking with the 7,000+ AfricaCom telcos and 250+ technology
exhibitors. For value, no other Enterprise ICT event in Africa compares.
Attendance is free to African enterprise CIOs and operator companies and early booking discounts apply to all others. Your ticket also includes access to the AfricaCom conference morning keynote sessions and 250+ stand exhibition.
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