A new research report from McKinsey, titled, Building the Web 2.0 Enterprise: McKinsey Global Survey Results, provides some useful and encouraging information. This report covers their second annul research survey on the topic. This year the researchers found that companies have adopted more Web 2.0 tools this year than in 2007 and are using them for higher-value purposes. They add that companies that are satisfied with their use of these tools are starting to see changes throughout the enterprise. In addition, companies that are deriving business value from these tools are now shifting from using them experimentally to adopting them as part of a broader business practice. This fits with what I am seeing with our customers.
I was also interested to see that companies use Web 2.0 technologies more frequently for internal than for external purposes. This is all good news for Connectbeam. In the list of tools that count, social networking came in second to web services, ahead of blogs, wikis, RSS, etc. This is consistent with the Forrester study I wrote about earlier.
There are still challenges and not everyone is happy. The study found that higher levels of usage are found at companies that encourage it by integrating the tools into existing workflows, starting enterprise 2.0 efforts in conjunction with other strategic initiatives, and getting senior managers to act as role models for adoption. These are all good adoption practices that have proven useful in the past for new technologies.
The study concluded with the prediction that companies will continue to spend more on web 2.0 technologies, even the ones not yet satisfied. The majority of the companies that are satisfied with their web 2.0 technologies see them as a driver of competitive advantage. McKinsey said, “Expect these companies to become more aggressive in the marketplace against rivals that are slower to get on board.” They predicted that driving innovation may be the next major use of the new technologies. There is much more in the report. I have only hit the highlights in yet another positive report on enterprise 2.0
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