Thursday, December 16, 2010

The rise of the networked enterprise: Web 2.0 finds its payday

Serendipity as a word is in revival thanks to Social Media. How many times have I looked at my TweetDeck feed and noticed a comment or article that is exactly what I was looking for at that moment.

Reality is this is less of a chance and more that such a wide range of information is being funnelled into our customised information channels. We follow and fan folk who talk and think about things that interest us so it’s little surprise much of it is going to be relevant.


I “found” an article today that lead me to the latest McKinsey Quarterly survey on how businesses are using Social Media now (as opposed to a few months ago – times are a-changin’).  As I read this fascinating review I noticed that it had been released only the day before and the next day they were having a live Twitter discussion (#mckweb2). As it turned out that was now so I managed to have an interactive discussion with the author (@mchui) and a bunch of other valuable conversation contributors in real time. I love Social Media, it’s just so Social.


The rise of the networked enterprise.


McKinsey’s new survey research finds that companies using the Web intensively gain greater market share and higher margins. This is unsurprising as we strive to become a “fully networked enterprise” we can achieve a measurable ROI and long term benefits to the organisations brand and culture by using rather than resisting this inevitable product.

Here is one small exert from the review that looks at who inside the organisation are managing the platforms (A question that I am often asked).

Managing the Web-based organization


Respondents report that a variety of organizational structures and units manage Web 2.0. This year’s results show that the IT department is most likely to oversee internal Web initiatives (61 percent of respondents). For customer-facing initiatives, 74 percent of respondents say that oversight falls to the marketing department. For Web 2.0 initiatives involving external suppliers and partners, roughly equal numbers of respondents cite the IT, marketing, and business-development functions. Financing comes from a variety of places, including the IT function, central corporate sources, and discretionary funds at the business unit level.


The social nature of most Web technologies, of course, opens companies to greater interaction with the outside world. To manage this change, a slim majority of respondents (51 percent) say their companies have adopted formal social-media policies; companies with higher levels of Web 2.0 adoption are likelier to have them. In most cases, only a few employees are authorized to speak on behalf of the company.


For the complete review visit the McKinsey Quarterly website here mckinseyquarterly.com

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