Social computing platforms like wikis, podcasts and blogs are often perceived as a consumer trend that employees –- who are also consumers –- expect to have, and bring, in the enterprise to help them do their jobs better and more efficiently.
But Geoffrey Bock, lead analyst with Cambridge, Mass.-based research firm Gilbane Group Inc., told me he doesn’t see it as a consumer trend. Instead, he thinks social computing platforms are a business trend that, unfortunately, businesses are neglecting to acknowledge and incorporate into their IT strategy.
But perhaps the perception of Web 2.0 as a consumer trend is precisely the reason why businesses are ignoring it. In the eyes of many business leaders today, social computing platforms are merely consumer technologies trying to encroach on the enterprise sphere –- and for some it’s a trend that if ignored for long enough will surely pass.
But the emergence of vendor offerings with a Web 2.0 slant have shown that social computing in the enterprise is not just a phase, and it won’t just pass. Web 2.0 is increasingly viewed as an enabler to the business, and can even work out to be a bonus for the corporate image and ultimately staff retention.
The moment business leaders start to accept social computing as integral to the business is when we’ll begin to see more enterprises move towards wholeheartedly accepting Web 2.0. And, perhaps organizations will tailor policies and processes around Web 2.0 technologies, instead of letting those policies and processes dictate the use of Web 2.0.