Web 2.0 technology | What does it do? | Impact | Value Driver |
Wikis | Allow users to contribute and share information available in real-time | Improve corporate/shared service efficiency | Reduce cost of internal business interactions > Lower Operating Margin |
Social networks | Decentralize decision-making and let solutions evolve through collaboration | Increase staff productivity | Improve asset productivity > Higher Asset Turns |
Mashups | Aggregate online content sources within and outside the enterprise to create new, richer services or situational applications | Increase integration efficiencies | Reduce total cost of integration > Lower Operating Margin |
Blogs | Improve the ability to provide instantaneous feedback on products and services | Acquire new customers and retain current customers | Higher volume > Grow revenue |
RSS feeds | Subscribe to digital content, such as news feeds, podcasts, or blogs | Improve customer interaction efficiency | Reduce cost of external business interactions > Lower Operating Margin |
Web services | Help analyze and make decisions faster by making it possible for different business systems to talk to each other | Improve execution capabilities and increase business adaptability | Improve information utilization à Grow revenue |
Rich internet applications | Rich user experience by bringing the interactivity of desktop applications to the web | Retain and grow current customers | Higher volume > Grow revenue |
*Note: The table lists one benefit for each Web 2.0 technology in order to demonstrate its business value. The benefit may not necessarily be the most popular application of the technology.
The democratization of supply and consumption may threaten the traditional enterprise, thereby classifying Web 2.0 as a disruptive trend. However, enterprises that leverage the long tail will reap the benefits of open, continuous innovation – a sustainable competitive advantage.
So what will it take? And is your enterprise really, really ready?
As consumers and knowledge workers become more internet savvy and collaborate for information, enterprises should be better prepared to adopt Web 2.0. Today’s mainstream consumers are taking control – wanting to help each other and solve each others’ problems. Not only are consumers demanding intuitive, engaging, and relevant digital experiences, knowledge workers (consumers within the enterprise) are also demanding richer user experiences with customizable business process applications that can talk to each other. Gone are the “green screen” days of the mainframe within the enterprise. The confidence around web based technologies to run the business and the maturity and comfort of the work force using these technologies are compelling drivers for early adoption of Web 2.0.
To fully benefit from Web 2.0 technologies within the enterprise, the enterprise will not just need to be comfortable with web-based technologies, but will also need to adopt the following socially-driven business principles:
- The enterprise leverages the web to diffuse enterprise boundaries, resulting in –
a) less vertical boundaries (flatter organization structures),
b) loose horizontal boundaries (more cross-functional interactions),
c) external boundaries (customer and enterprise interactions), and
d) shrinking geographic (global business units) boundaries
- The enterprise considers open innovation as a key strategic driver to leverage the wisdom of the knowledge worker and needs of the customer for sustainable growth
- The enterprise promotes the culture of collaborating, sharing, and knowledge creation.
Once bitten by the internet revolution, the enterprise will be shy to take advantage of the Web 2.0 trends and welcome it within the enterprise. Also the decentralization of control may cause reluctance in Web 2.0 adoption, however the value created by improving the productivity of the knowledge worker and building customer loyalty far outweigh such risks.
As Web 2.0 revolutionizes innovation with its emergent, unstructured, collaborative approach, this will probably need to be one of the most influential strategic initiatives for web-based innovation within the enterprise. To reap the benefits of Web 2.0, the management needs to create a receptive culture and a common platform for a collaboration infrastructure. Interactions should be guided and not controlled. A transitional, informal rollout of the technologies is recommended more than a formal procedural change. Web 2.0 will definitely need the support from leadership but this [unstructured, let it collaboratively evolve] path to value should not be treated like just any other strategic initiative. This path does actually pledge a truly non-replicable, sustainable competitive advantage for the enterprise.
