The BrainYard - Where collaborative minds congregate.

Stowe Boyd, Contributor

April 6, 2009

6 Min Read

Oliver Marks and I held a session at last week's Web 2.0 Expo on the Open Enterprise 2009 Study. Our goal was to familiarize people with what we are up to, to discuss some of the major themes that are emerging, and to engage the group in a discussion about what's keeping them awake at night. I think we accomplished a lot. Our presentation -- which was meant mostly as a backdrop to our interaction with each other and the group -- can be found here at Empressr.com. Or embedded here: Note that we relied on the Twitter integration of the Empressr presentation tool to display various questions that people directed to us. Below is a sampling of those tweets, which I will be trying to integrate into our Uservoice account at oe09.uservoice.com.

@danlarsen: RT @dcoon: Execs care about profit & risk reduction : prod. & agility. Crisis just emphasizes that focus. Sell 2.0 as profit / risk. #oe09@dcoon: Execs care about profit & risk reduction : productivity & agility. Crisis just emphasizes that focus. Sell 2.0 as profit / risk. #oe09@JoeSchueller: @krohrbaugh agree we need something, but why isn't the telephone subject to the same scrutiny? #oe09 @danlarsen: @gyehuda Yes lots of good discussion on E2.0 here at #w2e in and after the #oe09 session. Love to talk to you more at some point in time. @soccompjournal: Companies more willing to experiment with cloud and SaaS solutions BECAUSE of the economy. Take advantage of it. #oe09 #w2e @soccompjournal: #w2e #oe09 Which areas of biz are most willing to take risks w/ E2.0: operations? Marketing? Customer service? @dyanaklein: #w2e #oe09 Which areas of biz are most willing to take risks w/ E2.0: operations? Marketing? Customer service? @JohnExley: As a consultant, how would you sell the benefits of Enterprise/Web 2.0 to execs frozen in their ways? #w2e #oe09 @alora: Companies more willing to experiment with cloud and SaaS solutions BECAUSE of the economy. Take advantage of it. #oe09 #w2e @danlarsen: #oe09 What specific technologies are the low hanging fruit in Enterprise 2.0? Where do you start? @lostonroute66: RT @ekivemark: #w2e #oe09 @stoweboyd "you can't squander a good crisis" @melissagator: #oe09 Have you heard of any progressive leaders engineering crises to accelerate change? econolypse aside @johanbergelin: #oe09 is it necessary, and if so, how do you stear clear of IT stakeholders to engage business managers despite w2 technical flavour? @alora: #w2e #oe09 Which areas of biz are most willing to take risks w/ E2.0: operations? Marketing? Customer service? @ekivemark: #w2e #oe09 @stoweboyd "you can't squander a good crisis" @lizrosas: are you talking to any governments? what are you hearing? #oe09 @_smj: #oe09 Many people requesting a blog or wiki, when the real requirements are met by eg forums. Must always fight latest buzzword in WSJ... @jessicahalper: #w2e #oe09 how do you communicate roll out of tools? Emailing doesn't seem to be effective but in an org of 180k ee's, it may be only option@hnauheimer: Are social media a tool for change processes or does it need a change project to get social media going in an organization? #oe09 #w2e @rlux: Challenge of adoption: lead by example. #oe09 @MeganMurray: There's a foot for every door. Leaders are people. If you can deliver a solid WIFIM you have a start. #w2e #oe09 @ekivemark: #w2e #oe09 isn't it a case of fitting tools into the flow rather than above flow. Eg. Enable email integration to new tools @PhilExley: "Having fanatical evangelists of the BENEFITS of Web 2.0 is crucial" #w2e #oe09 @SameerPatel: @stoweboyd "being a fanatical advocate of the benefits" is crucial, (not just the web 2.0 tool itself ) > v true #w2e #oe09 #e.20 @mariapr: #w2e #oe09 how it fits with the way people work and current company processes help stimulate adoption @hnauheimer: We are discussing whether companies who tap on passion and responsibility have higher adoption rates of web 2.0 #oe09 #w2e@smj: Easier to sell mgmt on cost-save like SaaS than things that excite individuals and learning professionals like internal soc net #oe09 #w2e @danlarsen: RT @ahesse Having corporate Web 2.0 fanatical evangelists is crucial. #w2e #oe09 @abbyshaw: #oe09 #w2e how to keep the evangelists hopeful? @aaronjuliuskim: #oe09 #w2e @stoweboyd & @olivermarks on Open Enterprise: http://twitpic.com/2p0wf @krohrbaugh: The Ent2.0 nomenclature is vague for budget owners; it doesn't express clear biz benefit. What concrete biz problem are we solving? #oe09@ktcat: @ahesse Having corporate Web 2.0 fanatical evangelists is crucial. #w2e #oe09@SusanWilhite: Early adopters often build unrealistic loyalty to brands, products decline or never were good quality. #oe09 @pickinmachine: Web 2.0 cannot reach its potentional inside the enterprise unless leadership and upper management is actively involved #oe09@ahesse: #w2e #oe09 so far, OE relies mostly on some individuals brave efforts. In my world , corporate culture eats Enterprise 2.0 for breakfast.@danlarsen: #oe09 Any advice on addressing Identity and Security challenges that make Web2.0 tech in the Enterprise difficult to do? @oracletechnet: #w2e #oe09 huge issue: with exceptions most tools just don't meet the "can my grandmother use it" standard; steep adoption curve @reneseifert: How do you put the cascade of people-processes-technology in an exemplified success-case into practise? #oe09 @shamelessjames: @#oe09 How do we create adoption among a user that lives by billiable hours and must make a personal investment in order to learn and adopt@mariapr: #oe09 how does company preocessed impact adoption for social technologies? @mhobbs: #oe09 Please comment on cultural differences regarding companies being directly responsive to customers in an open forum around the world @howardgr: #oe09 Fear in large organizations from Employees - collaboration and sharing not usual behavior. Fear to put out half-finished work. @rlux: Question for #oe09: how to drive adoption? Top down or bottom up? @danlarsen: How do you position something like Twitter/Yammer/Micro-Blogging within the E2.0 landscape of wikis/blogs/tagging? Mgmt doesn't get it #oe09@abbyshaw: #oe09 how do you slow your ideas down enough to be attractive? And why aren't new ideas more attractive? They're admired, but not adopted. @melissagator: #oe09 issue: leadership modeling behaviors @ekivemark: #w2e #oe09 Interoperability is a big issue but solution provider are building silos @Silona: I know it is obvious but still so happy to see change management mention w open enterprise. Openness is NOT easy for newbies! #oe09@oracletechnet: change management, not technology acquisition, is as usual the main challenge - especially in risk-averse cultures #w2e #oe09 @ekivemark: #w2e #oe09 change management and uptake is the major challenge @danlarsen: P&G on Enterprise 2.0 "positioning this an increase in resourcefulness" (ie ability to innovate) #w2e #oe09 @alora: "We can't look to IT for innovation in Enterprise 2.0." - Euan Semple #oe09 #w2e@ekivemark: #w2eoe #oe09 p&g collaboration as an increase of resourcefulness @pickinmachine: "We can't look to IT for innovation in Enterprise 2.0" Agreed, its a cultural innovation, not about the tools. #oe09

I guess we didn't hear anything that knocked our teeth out: mostly we are encountering people wondering about adoption, leadership, change management, security, integration, and the economy. Still, it was a solid exercise, and I think most got something beneficial from it.

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