Build an enterprise social collaboration strategy

1. Practical IT Research that Drives Measurable ResultsBuild an Enterprise Social Collaboration Strategy

2. IntroductionEmployees are already avid users of social media for communicating with friends and family; however, most firms are unsure of how (or even if) social tools should be added to internal collaboration platforms. Managers must recognize that social tools are powerful enablers of knowledge-sharing and productivity in the “age of the team.” Teams require tools that enable them to self-assemble resources and knowledge needed to do their jobs: managers must support a strategy that effectively leverages social collaboration tools for employee interaction, as well as traditional collaboration tools.This solution set will help you:This research is ideal for:This research is not about:XIT and business managers creating an enterprise social collaboration strategy.Using social media for interacting with customers. See this solution set.XTeam leaders interested in designing collaboration solutions.Customer collaboration or interaction strategy in general. See this solution set.XEvaluating collaboration vendors.See this solution set.IT professionals implementing social collaboration tools for employees.Info-Tech Research Group2

3. Executive SummaryCollaboration is essential for knowledge workers. Social tools use the friend-of-a-friend model to drive superior knowledge sharing and team productivity.

4. Embrace the social revolution and enable your employees with the tools they need to get their jobs done. Knowledge-based networks are here to stay.1CollaborationGoes SocialCollaboration solutions are created by understanding tools (both traditional and social) and matching them to the appropriate collaboration patterns.

5. There’s a broad range of collaboration tools, with a variety of enterprise use cases.

6. Collaboration patterns are either synchronous or asynchronous, co-located or distributed.Map Tools to Collaboration Patterns2Social tools are now being offered by virtually all incumbent collaboration suite vendors.

7. The market is segmented between suite and pure-play social vendors.

8. However, Info-Tech predicts that consolidation will occur and the distinction between traditional and social tool will rapidly vanish.Overview of Social Tool Vendors3End-user adoption is essential for realizing the value of collaboration tools. Help foster a culture that encourages the use of tools for E2E collaboration.

9. Bring a strong executive sponsor onboard, run a pilot project and find social collaboration evangelists in the organization.Build a Collaborative Culture43

10. Social collaboration is here to stay. Don’t be a barrier: enable it!Social collaborationuses tools based on the “friend-of-a-friend” (FoaF) model to facilitate knowledge sharing and enable team productivity. This occurs via peer-2-peer connections established between employees (as needed to do their jobs).Some managers are skeptical of the value of social collaboration tools, especially based upon biases concerning external social collaboration tools like Facebook or Twitter. Managers who fail to embrace social tools will be seen as barriers to effective team work.However, new tools that use the FoaF model within the enterprise are not a passing fad; vendors are already adding social tools to their collaboration platforms.Incorporating social tools into the broader collaboration strategy enables employees to be more productive and to effectively share knowledge and expertise.Social collaboration uses the friend-of-a-friend model.Employees are linked to a knowledge-sharing network through peer-2-peer connections.Enterprise Collaboration Strategy:Traditional Collaboration ToolsSocial Collaboration ToolsA holistic collaboration strategy employs a mix of both traditional tools and social tools.Social collaboration leverages tools with a social dimension (i.e. friend-of-a-friend) to drive superior knowledge sharing and productivity. Social tools are a key ingredient of a comprehensive enterprise collaboration strategy… not a substitute for one.Info-TechInsightInfo-Tech Research Group4

11. Entry Point #1: Social tools are entering your organization through a host of enterprise applications… whether you’re ready for them or not.Social tools such as activity feeds and social tagging are now appearing across several different application classes – not just those designed exclusively for collaboration (i.e. SharePoint 2010).For example, a number of CRM vendors now provide social functionality alongside their customer interaction products. Popular SaaS CRM vendor Salesforce.com recently released a collaboration client called Chatter. In SaaS applications, you automatically get new features when you accept a new version.Managers must be cognizant of the social tools that are entering their organizationswithout formal strategy.In many instances, developing a strategy for social tools is less about actively acquiring the tools, and more about understanding the tools that are already entering the organization by means of existing applications.Social tools are appearing everywhere: Salesforce.com’s Chatterproduct is an example of a CRM vendor with a social tool offering. ““With Chatter, I can quickly see all the things that are important to me.-Manager, Qualcomm Inc.Source: Salesforce.comSocial tools are permeating the organization through a variety of applications (like CRM) with or without management’s explicit approval. Savvy managers will match tools to collaboration patterns.Info-TechInsightInfo-Tech Research Group5

12. Entry Point #2: Have you added social tools to your strategic plan without knowing it? If you plan to adopt SharePoint 2010, you did!A recent survey by Info-Tech Research Group indicates that over 80% of organizations currently using SharePoint plan to upgrade to SharePoint 2010 over the next two years.This has very important implications for enterprise collaboration, because SharePoint 2010 includes a number of new social tools. Social functionality in SharePoint 2010 cannot be divorced from its content management features.The collaboration aspect of SharePoint 2010 (dubbed SharePoint Communities) integrates several new social features into SharePoint’s existing document and content management capabilities. Some notable social tools include:Employee profile pages

13. Employee activity feeds

14. Social tagging

15. Knowledge-sharing wikisSource: Info-Tech Research GroupIf your organization is one of the many that intends to adopt SP2010, you need to integrate social tools into your formal enterprise collaboration strategy as part of SP2010 implementation.Whether through one of many enterprise applications (CRM, ERP, HR, ECM, BI) or through MS SharePoint, social collaboration tools will enter your organization. The question is not should you adopt these tools but how you should apply them. This solution set will help you do just that.BottomLineInfo-Tech Research Group6

16. Section 1: Collaboration Goes SocialCollaboration Goes SocialOverview of Social Tool Vendors2341Build a Collaborative CultureMap Tools to Collaboration PatternsCollaboration Goes SocialCollaboration, both synchronous and asynchronous, is inherently a social exercise. Empower your employees with the tools they need to maintain social connections in the form of knowledge-sharing networks.Social channels can be used both internally and externally. The four overarching collaboration patterns are E2E, C2C, B2C, and B2B.

17. Effective collaboration is essential for knowledge-intensive organizations where teams are the primary creators of value. Knowledge-based networks are replacing hierarchies.

18. Collaboration is going social as vendors add social tools to their more traditional content management offerings. Pair traditional and social tools for maximum effectiveness.

19. Social tools allow employees to connect with one another in a self-organizing manner which enables the most efficient form of knowledge-sharing for short and long-term goals.Info-Tech Research Group7

20. Collaboration strategy comes in four flavors: each has a unique enterprise use case, from internal collaboration to external marketing.Consumer to Consumer(C2C)Business to Consumer(B2C)Business to Business(B2B)Employee to Employee(E2E)Defined:E2E = internal employees using tools for team-based collaboration.Enterprise Use:Social tools are especially valuable for sharing knowledge and best practices, as well as enabling greater team productivity.Defined:C2C = consumers interacting with one another for personal and professional purposes. C2C collaboration is uniquely a social activity.Enterprise Use:Understanding how consumers use social networks to connect with one another is key for business use.Defined:B2C = businesses using social channels to market, sell, and service directly to end consumers.Enterprise Use:Social media is a powerful channel for consumer marketing – use social media to drive awareness and build brand equity.Defined:B2B = businesses using social channels to market to other organizations.Enterprise Use:Social media can be used to promote products and support sales and customer service initiatives. B2B social networks, like LinkedIn, are valuable account management tools.Internal Interaction:This solution set.External, Customer-Facing Interaction:See Info-Tech’s comprehensive solution set onLeveraging Social Media for Customer Interaction.Info-Tech Research Group8

21. Nearly all organizations are empowering their teams with tools for collaboration: don’t get left behind!75% of organizations surveyed have a collaboration solution deployed, with a further 15% indicating that they will deploy one within the next 6 months. 100%90%80%75%60%40%20%0%TodayBy mid-2011Usage of collaboration platforms is growing, indicating that enterprise collaboration is here to stay.Collaboration platforms serve both teams and communities:Teams are organized around common objectives. For example, a cross-functional product launch team.

22. Communities are organized around common interests. For example, a community of marketing professionals in the organization.Teams have very specific requirements, which can be mapped to the features that a collaboration solution delivers. Communities have fewer defined requirements, but allow for ongoing knowledge sharing.If your organization has not already deployed collaboration tools, consider how they can be used for your teams and communities.Source: Info-Tech Research GroupN = 159“People are very excited to be empowered with the ability to publish content and to manage the content on their own, rather than having to go through a single point of contact.-IT Director, Healthcare Industry“Enterprise collaboration is a fact-of-life for knowledge-based organizations. If you have a teamwork-intensive environment and have not already done so, now is the time to deploy collaboration tools.BottomLineInfo-Tech Research Group9

23. Distributed teams are a driving force behind new collaboration tools: ensure your teams have the collaboration tools they need. Traditionally, team collaboration needs were met by phone, e-mail, and in-person (face-to-face) communication. However, the need for new collaboration tools has steadily increased with the rise of distributed teams. Distributed teams include workers from multiple geographical locations, remote employees, and “road warriors.”Communication models are rapidly changing as employees adopt new working styles.TodayAll employees in the office: collaboration platforms not necessary.Teams are more likely to be distributed.Virtual team spaces are required.YesterdayTodayWorking StyleE-mail, phone, and in-person were the ways to collaborate. Employees are leveraging the strength of their peers through a wide variety of media.CommunicationSource: Info-Tech Research GroupN = 168The majority of organizations are using collaboration platforms to support distributed teams. Changing workforce dynamics have made collaboration platforms indispensible for reaching this goal.Info-Tech Research Group10

24. Employee-to-employee collaboration is going social:embrace the “social revolution” to boost team effectiveness.Social collaboration is a natural outgrowth of existing solutions. By definition, collaboration is an inherently social activity. Leveraging the FoaF model in an enterprise context allows for more meaningful and effective collaboration solutions.Collaboration platforms are undergoing a rapid transformation. The majority of vendors now offer comprehensive social collaboration tools that complement their more traditional feature sets.Social collaboration tools borrow from functionality seen in consumer social media: for example, employee activity feeds are a step up from syndication services like RSS and resemble popular microblogging services like Twitter.Despite their resemblance to consumer social media, the value proposition for enterprise social tools is distinct from their consumer counterparts. Traditional Collaboration:Focus on enabling collaboration through content management and real-time communication, through organizational hierarchies.

25. Features typically include instant and e-mail messaging, file shares, Intranet sites, and Intranet search. A minority of organizations added E2E web conferencing.Social Collaboration:Focus on enabling collaboration through knowledge and expertise sharing via self-generated networks of connections.

26. Features typically include employee profiles (with expertise searching), microblogging, and collaborative wikis, with an overlay of activity feeds generated by everything and subscribable to by anyone.Don’t be biased by bad experiences with external public social services, like Facebook or Twitter. Value delivery is not about the tools alone but is about the collaboration patterns being enabled with the tools. E2E collaboration patterns are not the same as B2C, C2C, or B2B collaboration patterns!Info-TechInsightInfo-Tech Research Group11

27. Organizational hierarchies are becoming obsolete for enabling teams to do their jobs. Leverage knowledge-based networks instead.Historically, organizations have relied on a hierarchical model for getting things done, using roles and the relationships between them as a template for employee interaction. Organizational relationships were rigidly structured according to specific task-based needs, with an up and down linear flow of information.The hierarchical model is under increasing scrutiny, especially in organizations that rely on capturing, retaining, and transforming knowledge. In order to stay competitive, knowledge-intensive firms are replacing rigid hierarchies with flexible networks.Knowledge-based networks rely on the friend-of-a-friend model to allow individuals and teams to locate and tap knowledge anywhere in the organization. These networks are far more effective at disseminating valuable knowledge than hierarchies.Social collaboration tools facilitate the formation and use of both permanent and ad hoc knowledge networks.Yesterday: HierarchiesFormal

28. Centralized

29. Bureaucratic

30. Focus on command and control

31. Well-defined, sometimes mandated, linear flow of informationToday: NetworksInformal

32. Distributed

33. Flexible

34. Built by employees

35. Focus on leveraging knowledge and expertise

36. Free flow of informationKnowledge-based networks are superior to hierarchies for allowing teams to perform effectively. Social collaboration tools enable these networks by connecting employees and teams in disparate parts of the organization.Info-TechInsightInfo-Tech Research Group12

37. Social tools are a powerful new means for enabling employee-to-employee collaboration and team interaction.External social media services are extremely valuable for interacting with external customers and stakeholders. By contrast, internal social tools are highly effective for enabling employee-to-employee collaboration and team interaction.The value proposition of social tools centers on knowledge sharing and team productivity:Knowledge sharingrefers to the transfer of information and expertise between individuals, according to connections they establish, not forced by an organizational hierarchy. Social tools allow organizations to easily capture and retain knowledge. They also provide employees with rapid access to subject matter experts anywhere in the organization.

38. Productivity is enhanced by allowing team members to quickly and accurately tap into a stream of information about what is occurring and has occurred in other projects and teams, throughout the organization, without management intervention.Social collaboration tools drive business value through robust knowledge sharing and enhanced productivity.““We’ve seen a real decrease in the time it takes users to connect with experts in our organization and share knowledge.-IT Manager, Professional Services FirmThe social revolution means superior knowledge sharing and better team productivity through employee-built networks, rather than being restricted by organizational hierarchies.Info-TechInsightInfo-Tech Research Group13

39. Pair social collaboration tools with traditional collaboration tools in order to realize the greatest business value.Newer social tools have emerged as the “information publish and subscribe layer” in the collaboration stack. This layer used to provide only limited information available from process documentation and role-based organizational charts, if those existed at all. Now, the employee/team information publish and subscribe layer links employees throughout the organization to one another. Traditional channels like instant messaging facilitate the actual execution of team interaction.Layer 1: Employee/Team InteractionTraditional Tool Impact on Enabling Social Collaboration = 76%Layer 2: Employee/Team Information Publish and SubscribeSocial Tool Impact on Enabling Social Collaboration = 24%HighLowSource: Info-Tech Research Group; N = 56 *Each bar represents a statistical estimate of the impact each tool has on enabling social collaborationThere is no standalone “social” collaboration strategy. Rather, traditional and social collaboration tools should be used in tandem to maximize their effectiveness. Info-TechInsightInfo-Tech Research Group14

40. There is a social collaboration tool to meetyour organization’s needs.There are a wide variety of collaboration tools available for use, from traditional methods like phone and e-mail to newer social methods such as microblogging and activity feeds.Social tools don’t alter the underlying goals of employee-to-employee collaboration. They also don’t require a complete rethink of collaboration patterns. Instead, they expand the toolbox, providing new ways for team members to interact with one another. Traditional tools are focused on content management and communication; social tools rely on the friend-of-a-friend model for linking employees with one another.The choice of collaboration tool depends largely on the collaboration patterns present in your organization. Mapping tools to collaboration patterns will be discussed more extensively in the next section.We’ll revisit and define specific collaboration tools in Section 2.SocialTraditionalSocial tools add new possibilities for employee-to-employee collaboration. In most cases, social tools complement rather than supplant traditional collaboration offerings. Info-TechInsightInfo-Tech Research Group15

41. Collaboration tools offer an abundance of business benefits and hard cost reductions. Business BenefitsHard Cost ReductionsIn addition to the benefits of better knowledge sharing and team productivity, tools also reduce a number of “hard costs” associated with employee interaction.Travel and lodging costs for face-to-face interaction of remote teams can become extremely expensive. Creating virtual team spaces with the aid of collaboration tools means that firms can substantially cut down on travel and travel-related expenses. Instant messaging and web/video conferencing are highly effective collaboration methods that eliminate the need for costly in-person meetings.Newer collaboration tools also cut down on traditional telecommunication costs. A conversation carried out with remote team members over instant messaging is substantially less costly than a similar conversation carried out over long-distance telephone.While hard cost reductions provided by collaboration tools are valuable, most firms report that ongoing business benefits are more important than cost reduction. For example, a survey by Info-Tech found that respondents ranked “knowledge capture” and “innovation” higher than “reduced travel costs” as the driving force behind their collaboration strategy (refer to the chart on slide 10 for the results of this survey).Social collaboration tools create business value by enhancing overall team dynamics. Specifically, they facilitate better knowledge and expertise sharing and increase team productivity.Knowledge and expertise sharing refers to the exchange of ideas and expertise between individuals. Social tools enable employees to both publish information valuable to others as well as subscribe to others’ information and activity feeds. Searchable employee profile pages, discussion forums, and internal wikis allow teams to readily leverage subject matter experts anywhere in the organization.Social tools enhance team productivity by keeping team members in the loop at all times. Activity feeds let employees keep up-to-date with what their colleagues are doing. Instant messaging and web conferencing allow for real-time communication between team members.“Our collaboration platform has resulted in consistent, up-to-date information across all team members. - IT Manager, Information Industry“Info-Tech Research Group16

42. Business benefit scenarios: social tools enable knowledge sharing and boost productivity at mid-sized companies.Knowledge sharing from social tools means big gains for business.Social Tools: Better Knowledge SharingA mid-sized consulting firm with global operations implements two social tools: searchable employee profiles and a knowledge sharing wiki. During a client engagement, a junior consultant uses the wiki: after researching the topic at hand, he is able to find an SME working in another country. Leveraging her knowledge as an additional resource, the project re-uses existing organizational knowledge and is completed above and beyond client expectations, leading to repeat business.As a result of using social tools to successfully tap knowledge resources, the client commissioned another project from the firm – at a profit of over $100k.Social Tools: Improved ProductivityA software design company implements employee activity feeds and social tagging. The project coordinator uses the feeds to syndicate daily updates on project development. Employees who have subscribed to her feed also receive articles that have been tagged with information relevant to the project. Team members have a better idea of what is expected, in addition to receiving timely information that allows them to do their job faster. As a result, the project is completed ahead of schedule and with additional peer review.Decreasing the cycle time of projects means the company is able to gain an average of one month more selling time for new products: average monthly revenue per product is $68k.Social tools can lead to big productivity boosts throughout the organization.Info-Tech Research Group17

43. Cost reduction scenarios: collaboration tools cut down travel costs and reduce the amount of money spent on telephony.Using collaboration tools reduces face-to-face meetings, slashing line items like airfare.Social Tools: Reduced Travel CostsA manufacturing design company with multiple sites brings social tools like activity feeds and wikis into the organization. As a result of the social tool roll-out, remote teams no longer need to meet face-to-face as frequently. With total travel costing $1,100 per team member per visit, and with 50 employees making an average of 4 trips a year, a 50% reduction in the need to travel saves the firm well over $100, 000 a year.By dramatically reducing the number of trips employees had to take to have “face-to-face brain dump sessions,” the firm added $110k to the bottom line! Social Tools: Reduced Telecom CostsA social collaboration client that includes activity feeds and real-time instant messaging is deployed at a legal firm. As more conversations now take place over existing network infrastructure, long-distance calls between offices are reduced by 33%. With an average of 9,000 hours of long distance per year, at a cost of $0.10 a minute, the firm is poised to save close to $18, 000 a year.Implementing collaboration tools that took advantage of existing infrastructure and reduced the amount of time knowledge workers spent manning the phones saved this firm $18k a year!Collaboration tools cut down the time your employees spend on the phone – and the phone bill.Info-Tech Research Group18

44. Section 2: Map Tools to Collaboration PatternsCollaboration Goes SocialOverview of Social Tool Vendors2341Build a Collaborative CultureMap Tools to Collaboration PatternsMap Tools to Collaboration PatternsDon’t design around tools. Design solutions around common and repeatable collaboration patterns with those collaboration tools needed to enable teams and employees to get their jobs done. The majority of organizations are employing collaboration platforms to enable E2E communication. However, mapping collaboration services to organizational roles and hierarchies is a dead-end strategy. Instead, create collaboration solutions by mapping tools to patterns.

45. Designing around collaboration patterns will ensure both traditional and social collaboration tools fall into place properly.

46. There are a wide variety of collaboration tools, from traditional content management tools to new social tools like employee activity feeds and microblogging.

47. Collaboration patterns can be either synchronous or asynchronous, co-located or distributed.Info-Tech Research Group19

48. Map collaboration tools to collaboration patterns.Collaboration solutions are created by matching the right tool with the appropriate pattern.Collaboration tools: tools are the technological means that enable employee-to-employee collaboration, both directly and around business artifacts like documents. There are a variety of tools available, both traditional and social. Think of traditional versus social merely as a way to differentiate between some tool attributes, but not as a design point.Collaboration patterns:patterns are recurring events and interactions that dictate the manner in which collaboration takes place. There are many patterns, but some are more common than others. Three of the most common high-level employee collaboration patterns are meetings, content creation, and content consumption. Patterns can be synchronous or asynchronous.Pattern matchingis the process of orchestrating collaboration patterns with collaboration tools to produce a specific collaboration solution.The Fundamental Collaboration Equation:Collaboration PatternCollaboration ToolCollaboration SolutionThe solution to enabling team collaboration is combining the right collaboration tool with the applicable collaboration pattern.Three Overarching Collaboration Patterns:Employee-to-Employee collaboration typically takes place in three contexts: meetings, content creation, and content consumption. We’ll examine each in turn.Design collaboration solutions around common and repeatable collaboration patterns, not around tools. This will combine the right tools for the job and make the distinction of traditional versus social irrelevant. It also creates a library of solutions that business analysts can implement for a variety of use cases.BottomLineInfo-Tech Research Group20

49. Step 1: Understand the tools.Traditional Collaboration ToolsSocial Collaboration ToolsCollaboration ToolsInfo-Tech Research Group21

50. Telephone and e-mail: the mainstays of enterprise collaboration.Real-time channel that enables detection of mood through voice tone, making it a good collaboration tool for high-priority and urgent communications.

51. Voice-based communications require both parties to be available simultaneously, which can create scheduling headaches. Attempting to “talk through” document edits and content creation can also be more cumbersome than other tools.

52. IP telephony services are replacing traditional telephony services in the enterprise as a result of the value derived from voice and data integration. Voice (Telephony)Asynchronous rich text messaging; it can also serve as a document container. The enterprise value of e-mail as a standalone collaboration tool has become so great that it is considered critical enterprise infrastructure.

53. Allows knowledge workers to shift attention to non-urgent issues to off-peak periods, allowing for improved productivity.

54. E-mail is a poor collaboration channel for urgent issues. The number of e-mail response cycles required to resolve an issue can easily cost more in productivity than using a real- time collaboration channel (i.e. telephone or IM).E-MailVoice-based communications (particularly IP telephony) is highly effective for high-priority discussions. E-mail is best suited for non-critical situations where employees can prioritize and address e-mails at their convenience.Info-TechInsightInfo-Tech Research Group22

55. Content management and discussion forums: useful repositories.Content management encompasses document repositories, library and version control, and shared workspaces.

56. Content management solutions are more effective than e-mail for document-based collaboration; they impose order on what can be an otherwise chaotic process (for example, endless back-and-forth revisions are nullified by version control).

57. Content management tools also archive material for all users to see, creating knowledge transparency rather than the “closed loop” of e-mail between only a few employees. This allows information to be easily repurposed for future projects.Content ManagementNon-real-time message threads, posted in a central location.

58. Extremely popular for customer service and support, as well as internal collaboration among employees (for example, frequently asked questions forums that allow employees to pose questions to their peers).

59. Frequently integrate other collaboration tools, such as e-mail, text chat, voice, and presence detection. Discussion ForumsContent management solutions are considerably more effective than e-mail for bringing an orderly flow to document-based collaboration. Discussion forums allow users to pose questions to their peers (and for others to see these discussions), serving as an efficient means for knowledge sharing.Info-TechInsightInfo-Tech Research Group23

60. Real-time communication tools permit on-demand collaboration.Originally developed as real-time text chat with presence detection. IM clients evolved to add voice, video, file transfer, and even SMS.

61. Current value to the enterprise is still from presence detection and from deflecting telephony toll charges by using quick text chats instead of long distance phone calls. However, instant messaging requires users to be present at the same time.Instant MessagingA collection of real-time collaboration services including video, voice, application/document sharing, and chat.

62. High enterprise value for virtual meetings, distance learning, marketing, and sales.

63. Will replace the IM client as the point of aggregation for real-time collaboration services in the enterprise.Web ConferencingVideoconferencingReal-time collaboration, usually including voice, that allows people to see each other, creating a richer experience.

64. Often overrated as a collaboration tool on the basis of detecting body language, especially when collaboration centers on documents and applications, not people.

65. Often underrated as a field service tool for remote inspection, especially when large products cannot be shipped to a repair facility where specialists are located. IM and web/video conferencing are indispensable for connecting teams to one another in real time.Info-TechInsightInfo-Tech Research Group24

66. Wikis and social tagging help diffuse organizational knowledge.Wikis enable collaborative authoring of enterprise content, as opposed to forcing traditional editorial workflows on content authoring.

67. Wikis excel at rapid maintenance of team-based enterprise content, such as service and support knowledge bases. However, the collaborative authoring model can be restricted to designated authors, rather than allowing all enterprise users to edit all content. This is a common misconception of wikis prevalent in the enterprise.

68. Wikis are disrupting the traditional content management market since they often can be used as substitute products for more expensive content management and knowledge management products. Internal WikisSocial TaggingCollaborative tagging allows users to assign keywords to content that are meaningful to them, rather than forcing them to use a predetermined taxonomy.

69. Taxonomies are process-centric, while collaborative tags are user-centric. They are not mutually exclusive and can be employed to complement each other.

70. Collaborative tags are usually presented and shared among users as “tag clouds,” where the most popular tags are represented in larger size text and the least popular tags are represented in small text.

71. Emerging enterprise uses for tag clouds are intranet content tagging, customer and account tags in sales force automation, and user generated tags for customer service and help desk content.Internal wikis can be invaluable stores of knowledge for the organization. Social tagging allows users to find, categorize, and share information from a variety of sources.Info-TechInsightInfo-Tech Research Group25

72. Employee profiles and activity feeds keep teams in the loop.Employee profiles serve as a one-stop shop for relevant user-supplied information about an employee’s expertise, experience and interests.

73. Typically, an employee profile consists of basic information such as education and employment background, department and current projects. It may also include a list of relevant knowledge and skills, past projects, interests and hobbies.

74. Social collaboration tools provide the ability to include employee profiles when searching. This results in discovering employee expertise from a variety of inputs (as opposed to an explicit HR skills database).

75. For example, a team member looking for a SME in a particular topic can run a profile search to quickly match them with an expert in the organization.Employee ProfilesActivity FeedsActivity feeds syndicate a variety of information about employee and process activities to subscribers of the feed (usually team members and other interested coworkers).

76. Content that appears in employee activity feeds may be deliberately generated by the user (for example, “status updates”) or may be created automatically by enterprise applications (for example, a workforce management solution announcing via an employee’s feed that he or she is on vacation).

77. In keeping with the FoaF model, employees can also “follow” the feeds of their coworkers, receiving a real-time stream of the activities of their teammates.Employee profiles are a potent method for allowing rapid access to sources of expertise anywhere in the organization. Activity feeds make it easy for team members to track the project-based activities of those in their networks.Info-TechInsightInfo-Tech Research Group26

78. Blogging and microblogging services rapidly push out information.Blogs are pages where users upload content (typically written content, but sometimes images and video as well). Most blogs take the form of journal entries, where individuals or groups post information (facts, opinions, announcements).

79. Internal blogs are not publicly available on the Internet. Rather, they’re used by individuals and teams in the organization to share information and keep others apprised of recent developments. Blogs can be maintained by a single individual (i.e. an employee sharing findings) or by a larger group (for example, a departmental blog). Internal BloggingInternal MicrobloggingMicroblogs bear a strong resemblance to full-scale blogs, except they are typically much shorter. While a blog entry might be several hundred words, microblogs are typically limited to a short blurb – for example, 140 characters.

80. Microblogs can be used for internal collaboration as a means of quickly publishing team updates and interesting work. For example, a team might use a microblog to publish the findings of a latest study; the posting can then be seen by others in the company who are following the microblog.Internal blogging services are an excellent tool for posting department and team-level updates and announcements. Internal microblogging services can rapidly disseminate information to everyone in the organization following the microblog.Info-TechInsightInfo-Tech Research Group27

81. Step 2: Define your collaboration patterns.The best model to use when defining collaboration patterns is to compare the domains of time and location first. Does everyone have to be in the same place? Do activities have to take place at the same time? Choose one of four combinations as a starting point and then refine the pattern further according to specific needs, like meetings, content creation, or content consumption. LocationCollocatedDistributedThe most basic form of collaboration: face-to-face interaction. Includes document sharing, note-taking, decision making, voting, etc.Same Place, Same TimeSynchronous TimeReal-time communication between different locations: telephone, IM, web conferencing (video, audio, app sharing), decision making, note-taking, voting, etc.Different Place, Same TimeDelayed interaction that can be serial or parallel, often occurring between F2F meetings. Includes e-mail, discussion groups, content management like team spaces, wiki, blogs.Same Place, Different TimeAsynchronous Same pattern as above but no real-time. All decision-making continues in an asynchronous manner. Voting works well here too, since no real-time meetings.Different Place, Different TimeInfo-Tech Research Group28

82. The Meeting Pattern: Bringing people together is critical for a smooth-functioning knowledge organization.Meetings are scheduled interactions among people to achieve specific goals. They can consist of person-to-person collaboration or also involve collaborating around one or more business artifacts, such as documents, drawings, presentations, etc. Participants can be in the same location or in a different location.Many different meeting types can exist with an organization:Team Meetings

83. Department Meetings

84. Training Sessions

85. 1-on-1 Meetings

86. Client Meetings

87. The key requirements of meeting patterns are:

88. Note taking (whiteboard, personal)

89. Decision making/voting

90. Document/application sharing

91. Action (follow-up) item tracking

92. Shared document library

93. Audio (unless collocated)

94. Video (unless collocated)

95. Vertical industry or compliance requirementsThere are two types of meetings:Physical Meeting(i.e. face-to-face)Virtual Meeting(mediated by technology)Web Conferencing Screenshot. Source: Adobe Systems, Inc.Info-Tech Research Group29

96. The Publishing Pattern: Employee-generated content is king.Socialtext Signals is a popular microblogging application that employees can use to quickly generate content:One of the hallmarks of Web 2.0 is the lowering and removal of barriers to internal content creation. This enables efficient content creation by employees instead of relying on older, centralized content publishing paradigms only. Modern social collaboration tools enable employees and teams to create their own syndication feeds from what they create.New social technologies like blogs, micro-blogs, and wikis make it easy for employees to become internal publishers, ensuring information is fresher and more up to date.Employee generated video is one of the fastest growing forms of employee-generated internal content, enabled by high quality laptop cameras and microphones becoming a commodity hardware feature.Process-driven publishing is not dead, but process is no longer a barrier.Source: SocialtextWeb 2.0 technologies have socialized content by enabling employee-generated content production and publishing. This doesn’t replace process-oriented publishing, but rather enables employees to publish less formal and fresher content updates in shorter time frames. As a result, the time-value of information is greatly increased.Info-TechInsightInfo-Tech Research Group30

97. The Consumption Pattern: Finding knowledge and expertise is a required activity for every team.Finding information and expertise within the enterprise that may be useful to other employees and teams used to be painful and less than productive. This inefficient method relied on:Project managers remaining apprised of what each other’s projects were, with or without a formal PMO.Managers remaining apprised of every other activity going on in the department, trying to connect complementary efforts.Gurus and subject matter experts (SMEs) being exposed to the rest of the enterprise as experts in their areas via arcane HR employee profiles which were chronically in need of updating.Intranet search engines that got turned on and never touched afterwards, configured to be everything to everyone and ending up being useless to everyone.Now that common employee and team activities are exposed socially as “feeds,” the same social collaboration tools enable employees to create their own list of which feeds to regularly monitor and enable searching of feeds, documents, and employee profiles (expertise).Salesforce.com’s Chatter enables subscriptions to employee, document, and CRM activity with content and employee profile search capability. Source: Salesforce.comPublish and subscribe, manifested as feeds and subscriptions, are the Yin and Yang of social collaboration. Their ease of use and their popularity in consumer tools, such as Facebook, have finally solved the age old knowledge management design conundrum, “How can we enable knowledge and expertise sharing if we cannot get employees to contribute to the KM system?” Answer: Make it social, instead of a dry and academic experience.Info-TechInsightInfo-Tech Research Group31

98. Step 3: Instrument the pattern with tools.The next few slides will go through a couple of examples of combining specific collaboration patterns with the collaboration tools required to support the pattern’s collaboration requirements. These will create collaboration solutions.Collaboration PatternCollaboration ToolCollaboration SolutionRecall:The Fundamental Collaboration Equation:Info-Tech Research Group32

99. Department meetings can serve as an illustrative example of creating a collaboration solution through pattern matching.Step 3A – Define the pattern.Generic collaboration pattern: meeting.Specific collaboration pattern: department meeting at a mid-sized biotechnology company.Explanation: the research and development department at a biotech company is having its monthly meeting. Although most employees are geographically co-located, there are two branch offices and several remote employees who also need to be kept in the loop.After defining the pattern, it’s important to enumerate the requirements for this meeting. Managers created the list on the right as the minimum requirements needed for the meeting.Requirements for this meeting:Info-Tech Research Group33

100. After requirements have been drafted, match the collaboration technologies to each individual requirement.TelephoneWikisStep 3B: Instrument the Pattern with Technology,Requirement by RequirementE-MailInternal BloggingContent ManagementInternal MicrobloggingRequirement:Employees will be located in different places.Discussion ForumsEmployee ProfilesInstant MessagingEmployee Activity FeedsRationale: The best technology to connect employees located in different places is web conferencing. Web conferencing usually enables application and screen sharing, white boarding, chat, and usually IP-based voice and video.Web ConferencingSocial TaggingVideo ConferencingEmployee-Generated VideosInfo-Tech Research Group34

101. Requirements matching con’t.TelephoneWikisE-MailInternal BloggingContent ManagementInternal MicrobloggingRequirement:Content will be shared among attendees.Discussion ForumsEmployee ProfilesInstant MessagingEmployee Activity FeedsRationale: Web conferencing is the most effective technology for sharing content live during a meeting. Participants can view shared workspaces and presentations in real time (without having to worry about being on the right slide, as would happen with an e-mailed document).Web ConferencingSocial TaggingVideo ConferencingEmployee-Generated VideosInfo-Tech Research Group35

102. Requirements matching con’t.TelephoneWikisE-MailInternal BloggingContent ManagementInternal MicrobloggingRequirement:Notes, past and present, must be accessible to employees at all times.Discussion ForumsEmployee ProfilesInstant MessagingRationale: Uploading minutes and documents from past meetings to a content management platform (i.e. SharePoint) allows users rapid access to the files they need. Version control and permissions prevent users from making unauthorized or haphazard changes.Employee Activity FeedsWeb ConferencingSocial TaggingVideo ConferencingEmployee-Generated VideosInfo-Tech Research Group36

103. Requirements matching con’t.TelephoneWikisE-MailInternal BloggingContent ManagementInternal MicrobloggingRequirement:Department highlights are shared with other departments.Discussion ForumsEmployee ProfilesInstant MessagingEmployee Activity FeedsRationale: Internal blogging and uploaded video of the meeting allows other departments (i.e. marketing or sales) to learn about developments that occurred during the meeting at their leisure. Video summaries are also popular for inter-department and project updates. Remember, video can be a talking head but it can also be a series of slides or images with a spoken soundtrack.Web ConferencingSocial TaggingVideo ConferencingEmployee-Generated VideosInfo-Tech Research Group37

104. Requirements matching con’t.TelephoneWikisE-MailInternal BloggingContent ManagementInternal MicrobloggingRequirement: Voice communication is required, video is not.Discussion ForumsEmployee ProfilesInstant MessagingEmployee Activity FeedsRationale: Telephony and web-based conferencing both satisfy the requirement for voice communication, through PSTN and VoIP respectively. Depending on the protocol and client, it’s possible that IM could also be used (some instant messaging services also support voice and even video).Web ConferencingSocial TaggingVideo ConferencingEmployee-Generated VideosInfo-Tech Research Group38

105. Step 3C: Put it all together to create the solution.TelephoneE-MailContent ManagementDiscussion ForumsInstant MessagingWeb ConferencingVideo ConferencingCollaboration Solution for Department MeetingsInfo-Tech Research Group39

106. Summary: Map tools to collaboration patterns.Recommendations:IT business analysts should create a library of the most common collaboration patterns in their organization and inventory collaboration tools.

107. If a gap exists between pattern requirements and tools, procurement may be required. See Info-Tech’s solution set, Select the Right Collaboration Platform.

108. Don’t forget about the new features and tools your organization will be gaining automatically if SharePoint 2010 is on your roadmap!

109. Use collaboration pattern matching, on an ongoing basis, to design solutions to satisfy business unit requests. Pattern matching is an especially useful methodology for IT groups responsible for managing collaboration platforms on a permanent basis, such as MS SharePoint. You can’t just turn end users loose on SharePoint. SharePoint sites require solutions design just like any other collaborative applications. See Appendix A for an additional collaboration pattern matching exercise, combining both traditional and social collaboration tools into a single collaboration solution.Collaboration PatternCollaboration ToolCollaboration SolutionInfo-Tech Research Group40

110. Section 3: Overview of Social Tool VendorsCollaboration Goes SocialOverview of Social Tool Vendors2341Build a Collaborative CultureMap Tools to Collaboration PatternsOverview of Social Tool VendorsPowerful social tool sets are now being offered by the majority of vendors, both pure-play collaboration vendors and integrated with enterprise applications (CRM, ERP, ECM, BI). Awareness of vendor capabilities and social product roadmaps has become as important as new product selection.Enterprise collaboration vendors are continuing to add social collaboration tools to their platforms; this trend is virtually universal. The market can be segmented into suite and pure-play social vendors.

111. The enterprise social collaboration market is now mature with Microsoft consolidating its social collaboration strategy in SharePoint 2010. A majority of organizations will have deployed social collaboration tools to employees by the end of 2011.

112. Enterprise application vendors (CRM, ERP, ECM, BI, etc.) are also adding social collaboration services to their platforms, to support the four major categories of collaboration patterns (B2B, B2C, C2C, E2E) as needed.Info-Tech Research Group41

113. The collaboration market is split between suite and pure-play vendors.Collaboration Suite Vendors: Collaboration suite vendors offer comprehensive collaboration platforms that include both traditional features (i.e. content management) and social tools.Pure-Play Social Vendors:Pure play social vendors provide tools that center predominantly on the social aspects of collaboration (i.e. activity feeds, microblogging, etc.)PulseLotus ConnectionsSocial WorkplaceAt this time, the market is split. Within 3 to 5 years, social tools will be subsumed with generic collaboration platforms. Pure-plays will diminish.Info-TechPredictionInfo-Tech Research Group42

114. Vendor OverviewInfo-Tech Research Group43

115. SharePoint continues to dominate – though there are a variety of other collaboration platforms available.Microsoft continues to maintain the vast market share, holding a comfortable 71% of surveyed organizations using a collaboration solution. Just a few years ago, selection of a standard collaboration platform was easy: Microsoft or IBM. Now there are many competitors in this market, fueled by the rise of Web 2.0 collaboration paradigms. The defining difference between new vendors and established ones is the starting point. Established vendors built their platforms from a content management perspective; new vendors have built theirs with collaboration as the priority.Established vendors have recently bridged the collaboration and content management gap, making it increasingly difficult for organizations to buy the right product. To complicate the selection process further, many niche vendors have SharePoint connectors that deliver more advanced collaboration features so that organizations can continue to leverage their current SharePoint environment for content management. For more information on vendor selection, see Info-Tech’s solution set, Select the Right Collaboration Platform.N=159N=159Microsoft’s dominant market share in the collaboration arena, coupled with the social features in SP2010, means that social tools are poised for an enterprise breakaway.44Info-Tech Research Group

116. Collaboration heavyweight SharePoint 2010 introduces a multitude of new social collaboration features.Microsoft SharePoint remains the dominant collaboration platform. Alongside its traditional content management capabilities, SharePoint 2010 includes a number of robust social features. Its widespread adoption will be a sweeping victory in the social revolution.Microblog status updateSharePoint Communities is the social feature toolset of SharePoint 2010.Employee Profile PageSource: MicrosoftEmployee Activity FeedInfo-Tech Research Group45

117. Microsoft Lync complements SharePoint’s social features with tools for real-time enterprise communication.Microsoft Lync has officially replaced Office Communications Server as Microsoft’s real-time communication client. Updated features beyond typical instant messaging and presence support include live employee profile searches and integration with SP2010 social features.Source: MicrosoftGlobal search finds not just names, but also mines employee profiles for relevant skills and experience, then allows an instant connection to the individual.Lync integrates with SharePoint 2010 to bring presence notifications directly to employee profile pages in SP.Info-Tech Research Group46

118. Vendors will continue to add social tool capabilities. The distinction between social & traditional collaboration will vanish asthe market converges..Enterprise Collaboration: 5-Year OutlookFor now, organizations will be confronted with a choice between collaboration suites or pure-play social vendors. However, Info-Tech predicts that the market will rapidly converge.The outlook over the next five years will see traditional and social tools merge almost seamlessly. The distinction between traditional and social collaboration will become blurredat the product level but will become different types of platform services.Social tools will also proliferate inside the enterprise from a variety of different vendors, as CRM and ERP vendors offer collaboration functionality alongside their core product offerings.The upcoming market convergence doesn’t mean organizations should hold off on adoption of social tools. It means that managers should be aware of vendor viability: all things being equal, vendors that have both traditional and social offerings will likely possess more long-term viability. Many pure-play social vendors will live on through acquisition by traditional vendors.Traditional ToolsMarket ConvergenceSocial ToolsAs social collaboration tools become more commonplace and are integrated further with content management and communication technologies, vendors will no longer make a distinction between “old” and “new,” “traditional” and “social” collaboration platforms.Info-TechInsightInfo-Tech Research Group47

119. Section 4: Build a Collaborative CultureCollaboration Goes SocialOverview of Social Tool Vendors2341Build a Collaborative CultureMap Tools to Collaboration PatternsBuild a Collaborative CultureBring executives and end users on board to build a culture that supports collaboration excellence. End-user adoption of collaboration solutions is essential for realizing a return on investment from social tools. Many organizations are not seeing adequate tool adoption.

120. Mid-to-large organizations are poised to see the greatest benefits from adoption of social collaboration tools.

121. Don’t let your perceptions on external social media negatively bias your stance on enterprise tools.

122. Bring senior management onboard to help drive home the message that collaboration is a necessity. Manage the “value perception gap” between managers and employees.

123. Go forward with a proof-of-concept roll-out to prove business value and to build buzz around full-scale deployment.Info-Tech Research Group48

124. Not seeing uptake of tools in your organization?Build a collaborative culture that will drive end-user adoption.Many organizations are not seeing high usage of existing collaboration tools. It’s dangerous to assume that just because tools are deployed, they’ll automatically be used by end users.A tool that sits on the shelf is of no business value. Like most other technology-based solutions, end users need to put collaboration tools to use in order for the organization to see a positive ROI.Organizations that did see higher usage were putting strategic intent behind their solutions and were more likely to deploy the solutions for teams, rather than communities.Help create a collaborative culture at your organization that will enable effective collaboration tool use.To draft a collaboration business plan, use Info-Tech’s Social Collaboration Business Plan Template.N = 168Our issue isn’t the application itself, but rather that we aren’t getting the usage. We put it in and hoped that it would grow organically – but that didn’t happen. - IT VP, Manufacturing“”Adoption of collaboration solutions by end users is essential for realizing business value. Conducting a readiness assessment and drafting a collaboration business plan are the first steps in building a collaborative culture.Info-TechInsightInfo-Tech Research Group49

125. Use Info-Tech’s Readiness Assessment & Social Collaboration Business Plan to kick-start your initiatives.Readiness ToolCollaboration Business PlanThis readiness assessment toolprovides IT managers with an objective assessment of the current state of their organization's collaboration environment and offers recommendations for improvement.Documenting your social collaboration and E2E interaction strategy into a business plan is a crucial step in planning a social tool implementation. This template builds on the results from the social collaboration maturity and readiness assessment tool to help you build a living social collaboration business plan for the enterprise. Info-Tech Research Group50

126. Small enterprises beware! Medium to large organizations can be more effective at social collaboration.Larger organizations tend to be more distributed and have a larger number of employees and ongoing projects at any given time. These factors alone present far greater barriers to maintaining awareness of other employees’ and teams’ activities, which presents a perfect fit for social collaboration tools.HighThe larger the organization, the more immediate the benefits will be from all collaboration technologies.

127. Small organizations need to choose their collaboration goals carefully. If everyone already knows everyone else and activity updates can be performed by essentially yelling over the cubicle, then investments in collaboration technology may not produce the expected benefits.

128. Don’t buy into every vendor claim of benefits if you’re a co-located, small organization. EffectivenessLowSocial ToolsN = 124; Source: Info-Tech Research GroupIn a smaller organization like ours, we don’t really realize a lot of value from some of the tools when we can collaborate face-to-face. But I can see how [social tools] would be of tremendous benefit to a larger company. - IT Manager, Religious Organization“*Note: Only the tools that were found to be statistically significant are included in the graph”*Note: Small organizations were defined as organizations with fewer than 25 IT employees. Medium organizations were defined as organizations with 26 to 250 IT employees. Large/enterprise organizations were defined as organizations with greater than 250 IT employees. Info-Tech Research Group51

129. Organizations in the top quartile for achievement of collaboration goals took 30% more planning & selection steps than those in the bottom. Planning steps matter.Vendor selection process matters.Most IT managers know they need collaboration (or already have a tool like SharePoint), but they are not really sure what they are going to use it for.

130. Determine where collaboration will create value and how it will occur prior to selecting the technology.Collect specific requirements and document the collaboration strategy/business plan. Evaluating integration requirements against vendor capabilities is a critical planning step as it will impact overall usage. RFPs ensure the right product is being evaluated for specific needs. Vendor demos allow you to evaluate the look and feel of the products, while also forcing the vendors to prove that their tool can do what is says it can do.Expect to spend 50% of the total implementation work effort on the planning and vendor selection phase.Info-TechInsightInfo-Tech Research Group52

131. Don’t let lack of experience with consumer social media negatively impact your use of social tools for employee-to-employee collaboration.Organizations vary significantly with respect to their use of external social media for customer and stakeholder interaction. Some organizations are enthusiastic users of social media for sales, marketing and customer service, while others are skeptical of the benefits of adding a new channel to their customer interaction strategy.Regardless of your organization’s experiences with consumer social media, it’s important to realize that enterprise social tools have a value proposition that’s distinct from consumer social media.Many organizations prohibit employee usage of social media in the workplace. However, enterprisesocial tools are not for “personal” use; they facilitate team-based objectives.HighEffectiveness14%N = 124; Source: Info-Tech Research GroupLow10%20%Overall Effectiveness of Social ToolsWeb ConferencingDiscussion ForumsEmployee-Generated VideosReal-Time Video Conferencing12%14%Social ToolsInfo-Tech’s research indicates that organizations that used social media for external customer interaction were actually more likely to report that internal collaboration tools were effective, demonstrating that there is a correlation between success with external and success with internal social collaboration tools.Some managers may be skeptical of enterprise social tools due to their superficial resemblance to consumer social media. However, social tools are inward-facing and designed to strengthen team-based collaboration. The enterprise use case is unique.Info-TechInsightInfo-Tech Research Group53

132. Senior management sets the tone for enterprise collaboration. Encourage them to send the right messages.If teamwork is the engine of your production, then reward it and discourage people from insisting on working alone. Cite the company’s investment in collaboration technology as proof of its commitment to teamwork.Let employees know that a certain amount of personal dialog using company social tools is OK. After all, valuable employee connections are just as often made based upon personal activities outside of work as they are based on joint interests in work projects. As long as standards of conduct are met, there should not be a problem.Senior management needs to use social technologies themselves and let employees know that they understand the difference between enterprise social collaboration and personal social collaboration (e. g. Facebook).Senior management needs to show commitment to collaboration solutions. Find an executive sponsor in the business who can help lead the way.““So it really can hinge on whether or not the executives openly support this or not. I think that gaining that initial buy-in and support is essential.-IT Manager, Not-For-ProfitInfo-Tech’s research actually shows that employees think management understands social collaboration better than management thinks it understands social collaboration. Learn to use the tools as management and earn your employees’ trust implied by this “value perception gap”. Info-TechInsightInfo-Tech Research Group54

133. The Value Perception Gap: Employees perceive higher interest than management in social collaboration tools.Employees perceived that both management and themselves had the same amount of interest in social collaboration toolsManagement on the other hand perceived much lower interest in social collaboration tools than employees for both employees and themselves (management).Overall, there was a 35% difference in employee and management perceptions

134. There was a 27% difference in employee and management perceptions of employee interest

135. There was a 42% difference in employee and management perceptions of management interest Value Perception GapHighLevel of InterestLowIT planners need to be aware of and address any gap in value perception among IT and Business management. Otherwise, this gap will present a barrier to adoption of social collaboration tools within the enterprise. Help managers understand the value that social tools deliver and that they are already entering the organization through upgrades to existing collaboration platforms, especially SharePoint, and through a multitude of other enterprise apps, like CRM. It’s better to tame the beast than ignore it as it breaks down your door.Shown Interest in Using Social Collaboration ToolsN = 73; Source: Info-Tech Research Group*Note: The overall interest in using social collaboration tools was calculated by taking the average of the interest shown by employees and managementEmployees consisted of team members, leads and supervisorsManagement consisted of managers and directorsInfo-Tech Research Group55

136. Don’t design proof-of-concept projects around younger projects simply because they have a greater affinity for social collaboration. Implementing social tools will be easier with younger employees. Adoption of external social media is highest by the “Generation Y”. These users are generally the most familiar and comfortable with the kinds of functionality offered by social collaboration tools.Younger, mobile staff can be successfully leveraged as evangelists for social tools, but they aren’t always good at articulating the value in business terminology. Embrace their willingness to adopt social tools and help them talk about it in business terms. However, success with social collaboration requires that a critical mass of social content is published before value is perceived in the act of consuming the information through social connections. Choose proof-of-concept projects (POC) based upon the potential for rapid employee-generated content, not age group. For example, shorter term project cycles generate the most information in the shortest amount of time and these project teams make good early adopters of social tools. On the other hand, projects that won’t be completed for one or two years make horrible POCs for social tools.POC project duration must be balanced withreaching a critical mass of socially-generated content.HighSocial CollaborationPOCSweet SpotToo long fora useful POCContentNot enough content to test social sharingToo long fora useful POCLowTimeLowHigh“We work mostly with older nurses that are not very well versed in technology as a whole. With that being said, however, those that are using it are very happy with it. They see great value in the ability to meet and discuss virtually without the need to necessarily attend conferences or host onsite meetings and so forth.-IT Manager, Medical Devices Industry“Young employees do embrace social collaboration as just business-as-usual. They even make employment decisions based upon how advanced a company’s social strategy is. But they are not the employees you need to “prove” the concept to in projects designed to be proofs of concept. To be successful, balance your inclusion of younger employees in POCs with those employees and teams expected to produce the most useful social content in the shortest amount of time. Info-TechInsightInfo-Tech Research Group56

137. Case Study (Slide 1/2): Collaborative tools drive world-class business performance at FONA International.Firm: FONA InternationalIndustry: Applied Food ScienceSocial Collaboration Solution: SocialtextApprox. Cost of Solution: $20 000““FONA International creates and manufactures flavors for many of the largest food, beverage, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical companies in the world.

138. As a knowledge-intensive organization, senior management and IT recognized the benefits of increasing knowledge sharing and productivity through social tools.

139. In 2008, the organization rolled out a pilot project using a mix of traditional and social tools (content management paired with employee wikis). The project was a resounding success.

140. In 2009, FONA selected Socialtext for its full-scale social collaboration platform roll-out. Socialtext was selected on the basis of its strong social toolset and minimal infrastructure investment requirements.

141. In mid-2009, Socialtext was distributed throughout the organization. In order to increase adoption, end users who would serve as effective evangelists for social tools were identified and given additional training and resources. We were able to get the backing of senior management for the pilot with 37 Signal’s Base Camp product. After that went smoothly, we started looking at solutions for a full-scale rollout of social tools to the rest of the company.-Steve Brewer, IT Director, FONA Int’lWe were attracted to Socialtext because it offered a lot of the social tools we were looking for, but it didn’t require the same kind of infrastructure upgrades and additional staff that a larger-scale platform like SharePoint would’ve required.-Steve on Vendor Selection““Info-Tech Research Group57

142. Case Study (Slide 2/2): FONA International Con’t.After the roll out, social tools took off – tools that have been particularly popular (and effective) for increasing collaboration are internal wikis and Socialtext Signals (an employee activity feed/microblogging service).

143. Many teams that embraced collaborative tools are considered the highest performing.

144. In order to realize value from tools, they were mapped to collaboration patterns and embedded in the organization’s workflows.

145. Social tools helped create value at FONA by capturing knowledge “in the flow” (while getting work done) – i.e. by retaining knowledge generated by employee workflows, rather than “above of the flow” (intentional extra work) - which requires employees to set aside time to catalog their knowledge and activities.

146. Decreased time in connecting subject-matter experts to one another.

147. Increased capture, retention and dissemination of knowledge.

148. Decreased project management and collaboration costs by centralizing team pages (rather than flurries of e-mails calls).Some business benefits identified at FONA:“One mistake that a lot of organizations make is creating walled gardens within their collaboration solutions. Team pages, wikis, and content management sites need to be as open and transparent as possible – they shouldn’t reflect organizational and departmental boundaries. Anyone should be able to access shared knowledge.-Steve on common mistakes“Use a proof-of-concept project with executive support to prove the value of social tools to the organization. Leverage power users to serve as evangelists for social tools. A large part of the underlying value of social tools comes from their ability to capture knowledge in a way that fits naturally with team workflows – updating blogs , wikis or activity feeds feels more natural than “out of the flow” work such as writing formal Q&A manuals or knowledge guides.Info-TechInsightInfo-Tech Research Group58

149. ConclusionEmployees are adopting social tools for effectively interacting with others in their personal lives at an astounding rate.

150. Tools that enable the same type of peer to peer network building among employees are enterprise-ready, but most enterprise collaboration strategies are not ready.

151. Vendors of collaboration platforms and enterprise applications (CRM, RP, etc.) are rapidly adding social collaboration tools to their products.

152. The majority of Info-Tech’s clients plan to upgrade to MS SharePoint 2010 within two years. MS SharePoint 2010 is tightly integrated around social tools and will force companies into social collaboration, whether they are ready or not.

153. Organizational hierarchies are valuable for resource management but are not sufficient as a framework for employee-to-employee (E2E) interaction.

154. Enabling employees and teams to form direct (peer) connections to other employees and teams, based upon knowledge and expertise shortens cycle times, improves knowledge reuse and builds long-lasting relationships between employees across organizational boundaries.

155. Social collaboration tools, used in conjunction with traditional collaboration tools, enable employees to share (syndicate) their expertise and activities and enable them to follow (subscribe to) the activities of other employees whose work activities are complimentary.

156. Understand what value social collaboration tools add to traditional collaboration in order to build or update the organization’s collaboration strategy.

157. Design collaboration strategy around common and repeatable employee collaboration patterns, not tools, to produce collaboration solutions that effectively blend social and traditional collaboration.

158. Review the current collaboration product market segmentation to make sound upgrade and/or procurement decisions from among the options of collaboration platform vendors, especially MS SharePoint 2010; pure-play social collaboration vendors; and enterprise application vendors (CRM, ERP, etc.).

159. Encourage a culture of collaboration across the organization to effectively implement collaboration solutions that include social collaboration.59Info-Tech Research Group

160. Related ResearchSelect the Right Collaboration PlatformLeverage Social Media for Enhanced Customer InteractionEvaluate SharePoint for Enterprise Content ManagementNew SharePoint 2010: Now One Stop for Collaboration and ContentCollaboration Strategy At-a-Glance60Info-Tech Research Group

161. Need Additional Support?Info-Tech goes beyond research: Speak directly to an analyst and/or engage on-site consulting services to help your team achieve results.Email our Advisory Team to find out how we have helped other clients and get your Collaboration initiative started today!

162. Appendix A: Collaboration Pattern Matching Exercise 2:Team Interaction

163. Teams can serve as an illustrative example of creating a collaboration solution through pattern matching.Requirements for this meeting:Step 3A – Define the pattern.Generic collaboration pattern: team content generation.Specific collaboration pattern: team content generation on a custom consulting project.Explanation: a large consulting firm with a high percentage of distributed workers must complete a number of deliverables for an important client.After defining the pattern, it’s important to enumerate the requirements for team workflows. Managers created the list on the right as the minimum requirements needed for ongoing team interaction and content creation.Info-Tech Research Group63

164. After requirements have been drafted, match the collaboration technologies to each individual requirement.TelephoneWikisE-MailInternal BloggingContent ManagementInternal MicrobloggingRequirement:Employees will be located in different places.Discussion ForumsEmployee ProfilesInstant MessagingRationale: Telephone, e-mail and instant messaging can quickly connect disparate team members with one another. Telephone and IM are best for urgent matters, while e-mail can be used for non-urgent interaction.Employee Activity FeedsWeb ConferencingSocial TaggingVideo ConferencingEmployee-Generated VideosInfo-Tech Research Group64

165. Requirements matching con’t.TelephoneWikisE-MailRequirement:All content, especially project research, must be available to all team members at all times and library services (version control, check-in, check-out) are required.Internal BloggingContent ManagementInternal MicrobloggingDiscussion ForumsRationale: Content management platforms allow teams to create effective document workflows.Employee ProfilesInstant MessagingEmployee Activity FeedsWeb ConferencingSocial TaggingVideo ConferencingEmployee-Generated VideosInfo-Tech Research Group65

166. Requirements matching con’t.TelephoneWikisE-MailInternal BloggingContent ManagementInternal MicrobloggingRequirement:Similar previous projects and subject matter experts must be located.Discussion ForumsEmployee ProfilesInstant MessagingRationale: Searchable profiles and activity feeds allow employees to quickly track-down sources of expertise anywhere in the organization.Employee Activity FeedsWeb ConferencingSocial TaggingVideo ConferencingEmployee-Generated VideosInfo-Tech Research Group66

167. Requirements matching con’t.TelephoneWikisE-MailInternal BloggingContent ManagementInternal MicrobloggingRequirement:Project highlights are shared with other projects.Discussion ForumsEmployee ProfilesInstant MessagingRationale: Blogs can be used to allow other projects and departments to find out what’s going on with another team or division.Employee Activity FeedsWeb ConferencingSocial TaggingVideo ConferencingEmployee-Generated VideosInfo-Tech Research Group67

168. Requirements matching con’t.TelephoneWikisE-MailInternal BloggingContent ManagementInternal MicrobloggingRequirement:Video communication is required.Discussion ForumsEmployee ProfilesInstant MessagingEmployee Activity FeedsRationale: Video communication is enabled by various video conferencing solutions, ranging from a built-in laptop Webcam to full-scale telepresence. Web ConferencingSocial TaggingVideo ConferencingEmployee-Generated VideosInfo-Tech Research Group68

169. Requirements matching con’t.TelephoneWikisE-MailInternal BloggingContent ManagementInternal MicrobloggingRequirement:Document sharing and white boarding (brainstorming) is required during team meetings.Discussion ForumsEmployee ProfilesInstant MessagingEmployee Activity FeedsRationale: Web conferencing creates virtual team spaces, complete with live white boarding capabilities.Web ConferencingSocial TaggingVideo ConferencingEmployee-Generated VideosInfo-Tech Research Group69

170. Requirements matching con’t.TelephoneWikisE-MailInternal BloggingContent ManagementInternal MicrobloggingRequirement:A record of decisions made is required, especially if made asynchronously in email.Discussion ForumsEmployee ProfilesInstant MessagingRationale: Internal wikis are highly effective for storing and recording decision points. Discussion forums are still useful for this purpose, but are not as efficient as the team-authoring capabilities afforded by wikis.Employee Activity FeedsWeb ConferencingSocial TaggingVideo ConferencingEmployee-Generated VideosInfo-Tech Research Group70

171. Requirements matching con’t.TelephoneWikisE-MailInternal BloggingContent ManagementInternal MicrobloggingRequirement:Project Team member online status and ability to chat required.Discussion ForumsEmployee ProfilesInstant MessagingEmployee Activity FeedsRationale: Instant messaging offers presence detection as well as rich text, multimedia and file sharing capabilities that meet online chat requirements.Web ConferencingSocial TaggingVideo ConferencingEmployee-Generated VideosInfo-Tech Research Group71

172. Requirements matching con’t.TelephoneWikisE-MailInternal BloggingContent ManagementInternal MicrobloggingRequirement: Team members required to keep abreast of other team member activities.Discussion ForumsEmployee ProfilesInstant MessagingRationale: Employee activity feeds are indispensible for allowing team members to see the “in the flow” activities of their peers.Employee Activity FeedsWeb ConferencingSocial TaggingVideo ConferencingEmployee-Generated VideosInfo-Tech Research Group72

173. Put it all together.Collaboration Solution for Project TeamsInfo-Tech Research Group73

174. Appendix B: Collaboration Defined

175. Effective collaboration is a necessity for knowledge workers: enabling employee-to-employee collaboration is critical.Collaboration refers to an ongoing process where two or more individuals work together to achieve mutually shared goals.Employees must be able to collaborate with one another in order to brainstorm, share ideas and complete projects.Collaboration occurs in virtually every organization and industry, but it is particularly important in knowledge-driven organizations where the majority of the value is generated by cross-functional teams.Knowledge workers must have an effective medium through which to share their insights with internal (and external) stakeholders. A breakdown in collaboration can have disastrous consequences.Improving collaboration amongst knowledge workers (i.e. IT, finance, marketing) is essential for having high-performing teams. Teams generate the majority of the value in knowledge-driven organizations. Increasing team productivity and knowledge sharing through superior collaboration increases the overall output and competitiveness of the organization.BottomLineInfo-Tech Research Group75

176. Superior collaboration means more effective employees.The value proposition of collaboration platforms is all about enabling teams to be more effective and efficient.The design point for any collaboration solution should be based on enabling team productivity and knowledge-sharing.Collaboration gains mean business gains: knowledge-based organizations can benefit tremendously from improved team dynamics brought about by superior collaboration.The necessity of effective collaboration is often highlighted by what happens when it doesn’t work: most managers have experienced firsthand the frustration that ensues when “communication breakdowns” prevent teams from being able to complete projects on time or to specification.Strong Team Collaboration:Team members communicate frequently and productively with one another.

177. Team members can quickly locate sources of knowledge and expertise within the team and the broader organization.Weak Team Collaboration:Team members rarely connect with one another: there is little coordination within the team.

178. Lack of communication means each team member has no idea what their teammates are doing.

179. Project goals are ill-defined.““We need to put information in a central place where it can be accessed for generations.-Director, Consulting FirmIneffective and cumbersome collaboration drains team productive; in extreme cases, it can cause the downfall of entire projects. Organizations that find ways to improve employee-to-employee collaboration realize superior team dynamics. BottomLineInfo-Tech Research Group76

180. Appendix C: An Overview of External Social Interaction Channels

181. Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C): Social media is rapidly becoming the dominant communication medium for many consumers.Consumer adoption of social media is moving at a breakneck speed. According to Web ranking service Alexa.com, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter all place in the Top 10 most visited Websites (on a global basis!).Consumers use social networks to keep in touch with their personal and professional networks. Social networking services like Facebook are geared predominantly for interaction with friends and family, while sites like LinkedIn are oriented towards keeping up-to-date with professional contacts.While social media was initially popular with a younger audience, there is now a strong adoption trend among consumers of all ages and demographic backgrounds.Consumers have shown a keen willingness to discuss brands and products over social media. It’s “word of mouth” on steroids.*Source: Nielson OnlineRelated ResearchSee Info-Tech’s solution set, Leverage Social Media for Enhanced Customer Interaction to gain a better understanding of how social media is being used by consumers to interact with their personal and professional networks.Info-Tech Research Group78

182. Business-to-Consumer (B2C): Social media is an indispensible channel for building brands that resonate with consumers.Businesses must go where their customers go. Consumers are flocking to social media, so organizations that subscribe to the B2C model are flocking with them.Despite the hype, social media does not require a radical overhaul of your customer interaction strategy. It’s simply a new channel that can be leveraged (along with traditional channels) for marketing, sales, and service.A survey conducted by Info-Tech found that building positive brand image and increasing mindshare were the two social media objectives that managers reported were most successful.Consumer conversations taking place in the cloud can influence brands for good or ill. Have a strategy in place to monitor and respond to customer conversations about your brand.Social media is a new channel that taps directly into the “customer cloud”, providing unrivalled exposure for marketing and sales purposes.Related ResearchSee Info-Tech’s solution set, Leverage Social Media for Enhanced Customer Interaction for best practices and case studies on successfully using social media for customer relationship management in a B2C environment.Info-Tech Research Group79

183. Business-to-Business (B2B): Organizations are effectively using social media for B2B sales, marketing and support.While building brand equity using social media can be more difficult for organizations engaged in B2B rather than B2C selling, maintaining a presence on social networking services is still extremely cost effective. Building a business profile page on Facebook requires no monetary investment beyond the time it takes staff to set up the page.Some B2B enterprises are using LinkedIn to conduct customer prospecting. Promising leads can be easily researched on LinkedIn prior to cold calling or other direct selling initiatives.Organizations that sell B2B are also employing microblogging services like Twitter to keep their clients apprised of new product developments and service updates.Top 3 Opportunities for B2B:1Increased Revenue: Social media is an additional channel for organizations to provide product and service information to prospective clients. A higher conversion ratio translates into more revenue.Customer Acquisition: Social media can be exploited for lead generation, particularly by leveraging the FOAF model in B2B scenarios. Many CRM Vendors are linking platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook to sales automation software to enable sales to leverage referrals through their business and personal networks.Customer Insights: Organizational buying behaviors and patterns can be gathered by monitoring social media sites and then used to design sales delivery models.23Related ResearchSee Info-Tech’s solution set, Leverage Social Media for Enhanced Customer Interaction to gain a better understanding of how social media is being used by consumers to interact with their personal and professional networks.Info-Tech Research Group80

184. Social CRM Vendors: not true collaboration vendors - but adding tools fast.Social Media ServicesSocial Channel AggregatorsCRM Suites withSocial MediaSocial CRM Vendor Landscape:CRM vendors are rapidly adding social tools to their suites, mostly for enhanced customer interactions across marketing, sales and service.

185. However, Salesforce.com is now focusing its “Chatter” social tool on B2C, B2B and E2E collaboration patterns. Chatter enables social collaboration between the organization and its customers as well as exclusively among employees, such as collaboration among the sales force.

186. As a result, as with all things IT, purchasing social collaboration tools from a single vendor may not be possible, to satisfy every collaboration pattern in the organization.For more about Social CRM, see the Info-Tech Solution Set, Leverage Social Media for Enhanced Customer Interaction.Info-Tech Research Group81

187. Appendix D: Social Collaboration Survey Results

193. Appendix E: Survey Results – Respondent Demographics

Build an enterprise social collaboration strategy

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