Despite the ease and enthusiasm with which knowledge workers have embraced Web collaboration, user-driven integration can only go so far. It is imperative that CIOs take control of their collaboration deployments now and weave collaboration solutions deep into the fabric of their business processes and enterprise software strategies.
Technology Brief
the new competitive advantage
Web Collaboration Reaches the Tipping Point
After years of grassroots adoption by knowledge workers,
the time has come for IT executives to build collaboration
into their enterprise software strategies.
ou can almost watch the landscape of the global can only go so far. It is imperative that CIOs take control of economy changing. Chains of loosely connected their collaboration deployments now and weave collaboration businesses collaborating across geographies and solutions deeply into the fabric of their business processes and industries are replacing monolithic, vertically enterprise software strategies.Yintegrated businesses. Speed and flexibility are supplanting size as the defining characteristics of a successful organization. SHOULD USERS DRIVE INTEGRATION?In this new world, the lead actors are knowledge workers. They Web collaboration inspires a wide range of reactions from create deals, analyze markets, develop new product ideas, IT management. The good news is that many businesses manage partner relationships, and make the thousands of daily encourage their knowledge workers to experiment with new decisions that create success. tools, and have allowed them to adopt collaborative solutions For IT executives, knowledge workers represent the ultimate opportunity to have a deep, dramatic, and lasting impact on their companies' ability to compete. Industry Collaboration builds bridgesobservers, including respected consulting firm McKinsey & Company, argue that businesses will derive lasting competitive Building business applications from Web collaborative advantage by supporting knowledge workers' interactions- solutions changes the focus from the data that supports a based business processes. business process to the connections between the people that Web collaboration solutions are emerging as one of the actually make the process move. For example, consider the building blocks of those applications. For proof, scan the product bid and proposal process that companies go through desktop of a successful, connected knowledge worker. You'll every day. A business application based on Web collaborative certainly find at least one instant messaging client, probably solutions can bring together structured data (ERP, CRM), links to a Web conferencing application or service, and unstructured data (documents, collateral), and the proposal possibly a shared workspace tool. In an echo of the user- team into a single collaborative space. The application driven PDA invasion of the late 1990s, knowledge workers are becomes a repository for all project information, and a place independently adopting collaboration tools because they meet for team members to meet using instant messaging or Web an inescapable need. Web collaboration solutions facilitate and conferencing as the issue demands.strengthen communication across departments, companies, and geographies, help knowledge workers build closer connections A collaborative business application also enhances the with customers and partners, and support them in making relationship with the customer. An instant message from a faster, more informed decisions. customer contact cues the system to recall the most current A successful IT organization in the global value chain will data relevant to the relationship, like an outstanding trouble view collaboration as part of its DNA, but the true ticket or an overdue account. The knowledge worker can benefits of the technology will only materialize as use that data to respond immediately and accurately to the result of active IT participation. Despite the ease the situation, while calling on colleagues to contribute as and enthusiasm with which knowledge workers have necessary through the collaborative space.embraced Web collaboration, user-driven integration Technology Brief
of the collaboration tools proven, Canon expanded their deployment, and the company uses the WebEx suite for product launches, customer meetings, remote support, and product demonstrations. While individual knowledge workers may have been able to achieve isolated efficiencies, building a larger deployment strategy has allowed Canon to effectively accelerate the entire business.By focusing on business needs and processes, IT leaders can also systematically discover and capitalize on cross-business synergies. Some companies are already building compo... [download for more]
