2011: Enterprises will become more social and mobile
I won't make any predictions for 2011 except this one: Enterprises will become more social and mobile in 2011. It is a prediction that is very likely to become true because it builds on a trend which already exists - and I don't see any forces which will be strong enough to disrupt it. It is also very easy to find support for this prediction when looking at other people's predictions, and here are a few:
- Large enterprise companies represent the biggest dichotomy in social media. Many tech companies are leading the way with social media initiatives and have really incorporated it into many aspects of the business. But at the same time, other companies of similar size continue to block employee access to social media sites because of productivity and security concerns. We are calling this a stretch prediction, like a stretch goal, but we think continued success of other companies and clearly stated policies will help some of these companies open up access as they begin to explore social media options.
- A significant numbers of enterprise software vendors will upend their development priorities and develop for mobile first, desktop second.
- Now applications are being remade to put people at the center of process and have automation serve their needs. The outcome will break down the old silos of resource-centric process management, to replace them with new, people-centric automation stacks.
- In 2011 the new, new thing is not a technology at all, but a new way of doing business that’s enabled by all of the above.
- The “business” will demand cuts in legacy system spending to fund new initiatives centered on customer engagement and operating flexibility. Smart IT people will position themselves against the revenue side of the equation. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be hell to pay when there are security breaches.
- Companies will integrate social feedback into their decision making process...companies will use the social engine to inform strategic decisions, and execute on the organization’'s objectives, marketing plans, product roadmaps and more. “It’s not just about technology, it’s about a fundamental shift into a new age of leadership with new type of executives who behave and operate in new ways,” said Marc Benioff, Salesforce.com chairman and CEO.
- Systems of engagement will dramatically change enterprise content management in two ways: They will challenge ECM to manage, control and audit information that seems to be unmanageable. They will also become a new, kinder, gentler face to ECM infusing a rather staid technology with easier, more consumer-like user interfaces that are directly injected into lively, engaged discussions between employees, customers and partners.
- In 2011, the power of mobile content applications will catch fire and organizations will start deployments en masse to facilitate greater people productivity and process efficiency. This will also drive the demand for security, compliance and litigation readiness infrastructure for such mobile enterprise applications.
- I predict that in 2011 organizations will realize that you can't put lipstick on a pig of a web presence and expect real, measurable business value. In 2011, organizations will gut that pig of a site and start from scratch with new technology, a content strategy and web presence performance measures that map to real business results. Websites will finally grow up.
- Knowledge workers now look to their devices as all-purpose tools that travel with them as they move seamlessly in and out of personal and work-related applications and functions. And yet, our research shows that a whopping 63% of information management functions are doing nothing to support handheld devices, including smart phones, PDAs, e-readers, and tablets. The mobile train has left the station, and information managers risk being left standing at an empty platform unless they find a way to work with IT to support user needs for mobile content and apps.
- The social intranet: integrated, widely available social media tools for all employees. While social media is now mainstream on the intranet, a social intranet is a far cry from a couple of wikis and a Yammer account. The social intranet is more than a collection of intranet 2.0 tools — it’s an integrated package that elicits and promotes participation from all employees, and engages many of them as user publishers...The social intranet is still in its infancy, but it’s ready to grow exponentially quicker than its 1.0 predecessor for those organizations willing to invest in the technology revolution that will transform enterprise communications and collaboration.
- Intranets will increasingly become absorbed into the "digital workplace " – the wider world of workplace technology...In 2011 intranets will not simply evaporate but they will increasingly intersect with other online services such as HR self-service, live communications including audio and video, social media inside and outside the firewall and remote and mobile devices.
- The term "intranet”, often forecast to disappear, will persist as a still useful "catch all” term for the wider set of workplace technologies. However, the trend to renaming intranet and online teams into "digital workplace” units will also continue steadily, allowing what were once intranet-only teams to capture a broader range of workplace technology services.
- We will stop talking about social media, enterprise 2.0 and just talk of collaboration as the catch-all term inside and outside the organizational firewall. Collaboration is the term that will persist inside the working world for "social media and 2.0”. Collaboration focuses on deliverables rather than the tools.