As many of you know over the years I have I traveled quite a bit conducting classes and seminars internationally and in those sessions, I am often asked about collaboration and Enterprise 2.0 (E2.0). AIIM’s recent Industry Watch survey produced by my colleague Doug Miles titled “Collaboration and Enterprise 2.0: Work-Meets-Play or the future of business?” indicates the definition and understanding of Enterprise 2.0 is still in a state of flux. Some see it as a change in communication while others see it as a set of collaboration tools. Overall the findings show that 83% surveyed understand the meaning of Enterprise 2.0 and even how it can help their business. Over half of organizations consider Enterprise 2.0 to be “important” or “very important” to their business goals and Success yet only 25% are actually doing anything about it, but this is up from 13% in 2008.
As Doug points out in this report, Enterprise 2.0 technologies by their very nature encourage openness and sharing among users with a focus on user generated content. Yet many of the folks I have spoken with do not have a clear understanding of the purpose for these tools in their organizations. This also brings about the need to discuss governance, risk and appropriate usage policies, an area this report finds lacking in the business community. This survey statistics reveal:
· Regarding governance of usage and content, only 30% of companies have policies on blogs, forums and social networks, compared to 88% who have policies for email
· Whereas almost all companies would not dream of sending out un-approved press releases or web pages, less than 1 in 5 have any sign-off procedures for blogs, forums and even the company’s Wikipedia entry
· Despite one-in-ten organizations having had legal, staff or customer issues with blogs and social networks, only 1 in 3 have a blanket regulation absolving themselves from personal posts by staff
· 27% of people aged 18-30 consider Twitter is an important rapid-feedback tool for business. Only 7% of those over 45 agree
· 35% of our sample are using or accessing Twitter for their personal life, with 19% using it for business. 18-30’s are twice as likely to use it as over 45’s. 21% of the younger group use it during work hours.
· LinkedIn is twice as popular as Facebook for business networking, with over 50% having an account.
I am a staunch proponent of technology advancement and use in business. I feel that the best way to gain a competitive edge and minimize risk is to incorporate technology whenever and wherever possible. I also believe that change, while inevitable, is also one of the strongest barriers to incorporating technology because it takes us out of our comfort zone, making us change the way we work.
We see here in this small sampling I chose from Doug’s report, that organizations and management understand Enterprise 2.0 and it benefits but we also see that there is a requirement to understand how it will be used and managed for the betterment of the business organization and not just for the sake of having new technology.
I encourage you to get your copy of the full report and review the facts and insightful commentary Doug has provided from the AIIM Research Center. I also encourage you to take the initial steps of establishing a baseline of competency within your organization, through education. AIIM provides three levels of Enterprise 2.0 training for Practitioner, Specialist that can be accessed online or in classrooms and the Masters level that is available through instructor-led classes.
What say you? Have you begun Enterprise 2.0 and collaboration efforts? Do you have a story to tell? I want to hear from you and learn what you and your organization are doing. If you would like to participate in future surveys, please contact Doug at Doug.Miles@AIIM.org.uk
Bob Larrivee, ECMm, ERMm, BPMm, IOAm, E20m, EMMm – AIIM
Follow me on twitter – BobLarrivee and remember to visit www.aiim.org/training and www.informationzen.org, AIIM’s free social network created just for you.
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