IDC Whitepaper: Lotus Blooms in 2009

I D C V E N D O R S P O T L I G H T

Lotus Blooms in 2009 May, 2009 Nigel Wallis Introduction
Recent IDC research shows that the top Canadian organizational priority in 2009 is improving efficiency. This is of little surprise given the current economic climate. The ways in which companies achieve this goal will not only impact their ability to survive the current challenges, but also their ability to generate revenue when the economy recovers.
Canadian business and technology decision-makers have invested in collaborative applications to improve efficiencies, which should result in organizational cost savings (see Figure 1). While improved customer experience was not a significant driver of adoption, IDC's research highlights that collaborative solutions can support revenue growth through increased customer satisfaction (see Figure 2).
F I G U R E 1 B u s i n e s s D r i v e r s f o r I m p r o v i n g C o l l a b o r a t i o n T e c h n o l o g y
Improved efficiencyAllow employees to make more timely decisionsImprove customer satisfactionIncreased revenuesWork in locations outside officeRedeploy IT staff for higher priority projectsGain competitive advantageReduce total cost of ownershipROI for technology purposesRetain valuable employeesMitigated risksOther 0 20 40 60 80 100Percentage N = 122 Source: IDC, 2008
CAN04R There is growing market awareness of the need for and value of collaboration driven by changing employee demographics and their adoption of applications such as Facebook, Twitter or Myspace. Established companies such as Proctor & Gamble, as well as newer market entrants such as Zappos, an online apparel and shoe retailer, are improving efficiencies and creating competitive advantage by leveraging collaborative technology. IDC research shows that 26% of Canadian companies have already adopted some form of social networking solution. The growing adoption of collaborative and social networking applications is reflected in IDC's Canadian forecast. This software market segment is expected to grow to $205.6 million by 2013 from $185 million in 2009.
Collaborative Applications  
IDC describes collaborative applications, including social networking software, as applications and/or processes that allow the sharing, authoring, editing, and publishing of content by both internal/external partners and contacts. Content and document management applications, mashups, wikis, portals (both intranet and extranet portals), search solutions, telepresence, video messaging, and Web conferencing are adjacent solutions that are increasingly being delivered as features within broader collaborative solutions.
Benefits
IDC's 2009 research concluded that the three biggest benefits of adding social networking applications to enterprises are: (1) Improving departmental cooperation/collaboration between employees; (2) Improving customer interactions; and (3) Improving productivity (see Figure 2). Over time, we believe talent management - the recruiting and retaining of talented younger employees who are habituated to these technologies - will be an increasingly important driver for organizational investment.
IDC believes that there are additional benefits to using collaborative software. These include: . Extended reach of the enterprise - New technologies connect staff, partners, suppliers and customers quickly and easily. The resulting improvement in communication has the potential to improve the relationship through better efficiency and revenue opportunities. . Decreased time to market - These solutions facilitate the feedback process by capturing and creating new knowledge capital as well as intellectual property. . Improved compliance with regulatory standards - Content management applications make organizational content easier to find and manage, allowing companies to improve compliance with ever-evolving internal standards and external regulations.
2 ©2009 IDC
F I G U R E 2 P r i m a r y B e n e f i t s o f I n v e s t i n g i n S o c i a l N e t w o r k i n g / W e b 2 . 0 S o f t w a r e
Improve departmental co-operation/CollaborationImprove customer interactionsImprove productivity
Improve employee morale/satisfactionAllow employees to make more timely decisionsReduce cost of business operations
Gain competi... [download for more]