Webs and Wikis and Blogs, Oh My!

I know it sounds like something out of the Wizard of OZ, but then again there are many times when I hear business owners in this state of mind when they think about the future and Enterprise 2.0 otherwise referred to as E2.0.

If we approach this simply, E2.0 is the application of Web 2.0 tools and applications for use within the enterprise. Tools to enhance our business operations, communication and collaboration. I witnessed this same sense of confusion and concern in the 1980S when document imaging was first entering the workplace. We accepted its use to streamline the operational aspects of our business but held on to our reluctance for giving up the physical piece of information otherwise known as paper. What it all came down to in the end was an issue of change. If we were to use this technology called imaging, we would have to change the way we work and that upset our routines. We are after all, whether we choose to accept it or not, creatures of habit and routine fits nicely into producing comfort zones for us.

The introduction and use of Web 2.0 technologies presents a similar situation for us in the workplace. Many years have passed since the introduction of something as dramatic as imaging and we have become comfortable in our ways of working. The use of Web 2.0 applications as business tools now puts us in a change mode. We will use wikis and blogs to communicate and collaborate and rather than email, perhaps Instant Messaging (IM) for those ad hoc times we need to contact someone. (Of course there is still the old fashioned way of using the telephone now and then.)

My point is simply this, businesses evolve as do the technologies available to us for business use. In order to gain and maintain a competitive advantage, we have to assess and incorporate every tool that makes sense for us to use and we have to do this in a planned and calculated manner. We need to identify our objectives, select the tools that best fit our needs and bring these into the workplace with training and level set expectations that will foster improvement rather than hindrance. In order for this to happen, our organization must be flexible and open to change. When we have this, we have it all.

Identify your goals, select and plan which tools you will use and bring these into your business with the understanding that sometimes change comes easy and sometimes it takes a little encouragement. Change happens. The question is whether or not you are ready for change.

Bob Larrivee - AIIM