Are We Ready for Form to Move Beyond Function...?

Wainhouse Research released a report earlier this month affirming some of this blog's themes.  In their April report "IBM's Strategy for Taking Social Networking to the Enterprise", David Dines writes...

"...While most of the attention to date has...focused on consumer use of SN (social networking), there is a quieter, and more significant trend in social networking:  the use of social networking technology and functionality by companies...(called) "Enterprise Social Networking" (ESN).

This "quiet revolution" is happening because social networking consists of more than college students comparing notes on movies - it is the use of web-based technology to foster social ties between people based on their interests, skills or shared projects.  At is core SN enables people to self-identify, communicate, collaborate, add content, add metadata (tags) and share data.  Much of SN's power comes from its self-organizing / grass roots nature that enables tapping into collective intelligence and knowledge.  SN can streamline information sharing, business processes and collaborative efforts, which will boost business productivity...

These potential benefits of SN are so compelling that...(the)...widespread adoption of SN by companies is inevitable -- and that the stakes are high for both suppliers and end users."

Wainhouse -- like Gartner, Forrester and IDC -- affirms in their detailed review of IBM's Lotus Connections social software a lot of what the blogosphere has written about for some time.  Social networking has a natural place in the enterprise.

Earlier this year, Mike Gotta delivered a great post on this topic along with several sound-bites that intuitively value the contributions "social enterprise networks" can deliver:

"...before being a buyer or seller of products and services, an organization is a participant in a complex network of market and stakeholder relationships (e.g., employees, customers, partners, and suppliers) that have greater influence over its long-term success than does its products or services.

...the informal networks and social relationships that permeate a workforce have greater influence over an organization’s long-term success than does its managerial practices..."

As Mike outlines, most enterprise-software solutions built by the big vendors (Oracle, SAP, IBM) are specifically designed to automate the functional tasks that form the backbone of any company -- e.g., data collection, information processing, financials, workflow management, customer receivables, inventory, etc.  These applications "automate the transactional, informational and analytic needs of thsoe work functions" -- but they do so without context for the natural collaboration that occurs between the individuals involved in their completion.

While enterprise software has existed in the corporate world since IBM's early mainframe days of the 1960's -- when you really think about it, it has only enjoyed widespread adoption since the mid-eighties.  And it's taken the explosive innovation of early-nineties (e.g., enterprise resource planning - SAP, database management - Oracle, office worker productivity - Microsoft) for enterprise software to really hit the mainstream.

So, it's natural that "social networking" capabilities haven't yet struck mainstream adoption in enterprise software development roadmaps -- but they're certainly on the horizon.

David Dines, Mike Gotta, Jon Husband (a fellow seer in the social-computing blogosphere) and I all share similar certitude on at least one thing...the adoption of enterprise software is now mature enough to serve as a platform for "form moving beyond function".

Comments

[Jon Husband]

So, it's natural that "social networking" capabilities haven't yet struck mainstream adoption in enterprise software development roadmaps -- but they're certainly on the horizon.

I discuss a lot (most of) what you are suggesting about the moves by the large vendors to add / integrate social computing capabilities into (or onto ? ;-) their collaboration suites or platforms in the recently published "Making Knowledge Work - the arrival of Web 2.0"

But dang .. I wish I had had access to your nifty graphic (above) for either the Introduction or Chapter One. I've seen other graphics with a similar message, but I like a lot the simplicity and clarity the point re: participation. Well done !

[Ed Sander]

Thanks, Jon. I thought so to when I saw it - and the credit really goes to Mike Gotta for the graphic. Interested in your insights and looking forward to connecting outside the blogosphere on your work...