McKinsey Survey on Enterprise 2.0
August 7, 2008 by Raj Sheelvant
Companies that are deriving business value from Web 2.0 tools are now shifting from using them experimentally to adopting them as part of a broader business practice according to the latest McKinsey Global Survey Results titled Building the Web 2.0 Enterprise (you need to register to read the complete article). This survey also shows that the fundamental changes to the way the companies view Enterprise 2.0. These companies are not only using more technologies but also leveraging them to change management practices and organizational structures. Some are taking steps to open their corporate “ecosystems” by encouraging customers to join them in developing products and by using new tools to tap distributed knowledge.
The most important finding in my opinion is that 26 percent of the executives surveyed report that Web 2.0 tools have changed interactions with customers and suppliers, while 33 percent say these technologies have created new roles or functions inside the organization. A third of the satisfied respondents even feel that Web tools are changing its structure. Companies are using Web 2.0 tools more extensively for interactions with their customers, suppliers, and outside experts (See the survey results below)—for example, to engage customers and suppliers in product-development efforts, also known as cocreation. In addition, they are forming networks outside their corporate walls. These forward-thinking companies seem to be taking a more business-centric approach to the adoption of Web 2.0 as well.
The goal of the Web 2.0 technology is to ‘democratize’ the information flow. In a traditional company the information flow is ‘vertical’ and ‘top-down’. In that restricted ‘information flow’ environment individuals cannot be empowered. Web 2.0 on the other hand, enables the information to flow ‘horizontally’ and ‘bottom -up’. Its great news that a quarter of executives surveyed have a clear understanding of the power of Web 2.0 technology and are changing the organizational structure to leverage its usefulness. BTW, the only way to upgrade an Enterprise into Enterprise 2.0 is to make organizational and cultural changes to the corporation and thus maximize Web 2.0 benefits. Simply implementing existing Web 2.0 like blogs, wikis within the firewall (ie within an Enterprise environment) and calling that organization as Enterprise 2.0 is nearsighted and that organization will be left behind in this new collaborative and globalized world.
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