Enterprise 2.0

Social computing goes enterprise mainstream

Imagine holding an Olympic high diving event where there wasn’t a drop of water to be found. Or, a professional baseball game with no bases, bats or (gasp!) cold beer! That is a little what it’s like today at the Enterprise 2.0 conference and social networking gathering taking place this week at the four-star Westin Boston Hotel, adjacent to the sprawling Boston Convention Center.

As vendors, users and Twitterati experts talked about the latest developments and trends in social networking and collaborative software, attendees in the audience had to deal with little or no WiFi access and signal strength that was as bashful as a freshman at a senior dance. WiFi signal were bouncing all over the hotel lobby (where I am writing this blog), but couldn’t seem to penetrate the meeting rooms where people Twittered and tweeted in vain.

This didn’t stop speakers at the event from expounding about the benefits of social computing to the enterprise – a claim that was backed up with a lot of concrete examples from heavyweight companies like Allstate Insurance, the Humana health services organization, and JetBlue airlines. Many companies are pretty early into social computing, with most involved in pilot projects and efforts that are happening outside the sphere of IT and the corporate network. But, nearly every company making a presentation at Enterprise 2.0 agreed the technology will have a profound impact on the corporate technology structure and strategies over the next five to ten years.
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