Topics addressed:

• Workforce Transformation
• Business Process Optimization
• Intellectual Property/Privacy/Compliance
• Religious Wars (technology/generational bias)
• Bottom Line Business Benefits

Panelists:

Greg Lowe, social media architect and program manager at Alcatel-Lucent
Bruce Galinsky, director of IT, MetLife
Bryce Williams, social media consultant, Eli Lilly
Jamie Pappas, manager, social media, EMC
Mary Maida, information solutions manager, Medtronics, Inc.
Claire Flanagan, senior manager KM and Enterprise Social Collaboration, CSC

This conversation is not a new one but perhaps the difference now is that there are more examples of how Enterprise 2.0 is changing corporate practices

Workforce Transformation

The group's general consensus: The goal is to break down the data silos and the walled gardens that permeate the enterprise. Some of the highlights:

• Murray, BoozAllen: Technologies are changing the business - period. "These technologies are helping us move smarter, faster. The inroads are coming.
• Jami Pappas, EMC: "We have started a bottom up strategy. " The company has a few hundred champions who are champions for Enterprise 2.0 technologies
• Galinsky, MetLife: "You need drivers." For example, the ability to collaborate quickly on products to market.

Business Process Optimization

More people do not come into the office for work. The virtual office is such a reality that collaboration tools become increasingly important. This is evident with the announcements such as the one from Second Life today about their enterprise offering and similar products from companies like Proton Media.

But still, for Murray of Booze Hamilton, said It comes down to baby steps. The reality, though, is it would never have seemed likely in 2006 that there would be applications plugging into Sharepoint.

Intellectual Property/Privacy

Data security always elicits fear. It's no different than how security is viewed in any context. Trust is always the big issue but it is also about keeping some form of control. At Eli Lilly, employees, a lot of them who are scientists, are chomping to use more collaborative tools.

Williams, Eli Lilly: The challenge is mitigating risk. "We have to find a way to herd the cats without putting data at risk."

Religious Wars (technology/generational bias)

With any movement, revolutionaries have the tendency to make those in power feel a bit uncomfortable. It is no different with enterprise technologies.

Galinsky of MetLife said that the issue is often about provincial differences. One group may prefer Microsoft while another group is into IBM, while a third may do whatever pleases them. The reality is it just takes time.

Bottom Line Business Benefits

The reality: Enterprise 2.0 technologies are early in the adoption phase but the soft cost savings are mounting. Microblogging is helping people find information faster and people are questioning the viability of email.

For example, Murray said they did a study of the costs to "reply all," to email. The end savings added up. "It is a toe in the door, an indicator. If I can save that much, what about the big stuff?"

What's striking about asking questions about all of this is the absence of discussions about the monumental waste in IT spending over the years. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been lost to IT projects that have gone hay wire. The new world of enterprise 2.0 technologies are lightweight in comparison and a fraction of the cost.

But the answer is readily apparent. The culture takes time to shift. That shift will occur but it's not going to happen overnight.