Enterprise 2.0: Awareness is Easier Than Execution, Says Nielsen

Written by Steven Walling / August 3, 2009 12:29 PM / 6 Comments

In a new report studying social networking on intranets, Web usability guru Jakob Nielsen asserts that despite broad awareness, real execution of Web 2.0 in the enterprise is still rare at this point.

We've noted Nielsen's skepticism when it comes to Web 2.0 in the past, but it's not outlandish to acknowledge that the enterprise moves slowly to adopt new technology. By doing so, the entire industry receives a sobering reminder of just what it takes to make change happen in business.

"Talk To Us Next Year"

Neilsen's 168-page report includes case studies from 14 companies in 6 countries, including Sprint, Sun, Intel, IBM, and Johnson & Johnson. Several times throughout the summary, he points out that when he asked these companies about their enterprise 2.0 strategy, they told him to come back in a year.

With all the buzz about social software in the enterprise, this sounds like an anomaly to some degree... until you read that it's not an awareness issue; just about everyone is thinking about social software to some degree. But thinking and doing are two very different things. It makes perfect sense that the huge organizations he focuses on in the case studies would take 3 to 5 years to roll out a new intranet.

Breaking Down Barriers

Part of what led Nielsen to the conclusions he makes is the perspective he takes on enterprise 2.0. The man is clearly in the camp that says it's a difficult transformation where organizations must "cede power" in the quest to break down communication barriers. The opposite take would be the kind of analyst or vendor who stresses how new technologies enhance existing hierarchies of communication and do little to disrupt business as usual.

In the end, Nielsen's report stresses an important reality in business technology: pilot projects and trials might be quick to create, but real change takes time.

Photo: Dplanet

Comments

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Love Jakob but we often have differing perspectives, as we do here. He's not 'wrong' -- indeed a piece I wrote suggests a similar thing http://twurl.nl/xxbt7j -- that the incumbent culture will seek to 'destroy' the foreign object (as in living systems).

But 2.0 has the ability to leapfrog the pervailing culture to create a new one. It's fundamental to architecture...just create a layer of abstraction over the top. E2.0 is the superhighway to a cultural layer of abstraction.

Posted by: Paula Thornton | August 3, 2009 2:29 PM

Yes although it seems that insights are being gained from techs rather than from marketing and corporate communications functions which is where the real interest and need is for engagement. Get out the front, talk about content strategy and community development--I don't care what 'vendors' have to say. All my clients run off FREE web apps, they want communication and engagement strategies.

Posted by: courtney lambert | August 3, 2009 5:36 PM

It's only logical that a big company has a certain inertia when it has to adopt a new technology. Nielsen points out, that for younger people social networking is a part of daily live, but what he kind of misses to point out stronger is the fact that in big companies there are much more middle aged employees that have difficulties adapting to these tools and therefore reject the idea of using unknown tools. What we at href="http://www.relenet.com/" title="relenet social network solutions GmbH">relenet have experienced is that it eases the path to integrate social tools when employees are aware that these social tools are in no way different than their already existing daily behavior. talking to colleagues, asking questions and exchanging knowledge. Social technology is therefore natural social behavior using a technological catalyst.
Therefore it is of course only logical what Nielsen argues. Grassroot usage of these tools is easier as there are people using the social technology that already know what it is and how to use it. This is in no way different than any other changes within big companies.
The most important statement made in Nielsen's Summary must be: >>So, rather than saying: "X is hot on the Web, let's get it on the intranet," say: "We need to accomplish Y; can X help us?"

Posted by: Tom Rau | August 4, 2009 1:58 AM

Feedback from over 6,500 intranet end users who have participated in the Worldwide Intrant Challenge (WIC) supports the notion that the adoption of Web 2.0 technology is happening slowly.

Use of the intranet to discuss work topics, collaborate with other staff, publish content and provide feedback occurs 'infrequently''- ie. less than 2-3 times a month.

Read the complete story at:
http://cibasolutions.typepad.com/wic/

Posted by: Andrew Wright | August 10, 2009 4:26 PM

That's awesome! I hope if America ever becomes a full-blown police state that Americans will fight back like this too, and help each other, no matter what their political affiliation. I have faith that we would, but it would have to get bad enough to awaken the masses from their media-induced comas.

Posted by: aa batterien | December 23, 2009 9:06 PM