Who Has It All?

We are at a point of time where there are many choices of vendors who offer collaboration software suites for the enterprise. The choice is overwhelming at times. But the deeper I look, it seems to me that not one company has mastered the “we have it all” within their product. For example, there are some strong candidates that have tools such as forums and blogs but then fall short on wiki or repository. Or other vendors have tried to squeeze everything in but half of the tools lack basic functionality and are a work in progress.

But what do I mean by having it all? Below is what I think should be included:

• Blogs
• Forums
• Bookmarking
• Communities
• RSS feeds (with reader included)
• Wiki
• Document repository
• Capability of embedded video
• Micro-blogging (though I can wait for this)
• Expert Directory
• Smartphone accessibility (to everything above)

So, anyone know a vendor with it all?

Sharepoint – an Ugly Beauty

A great tool out there for many organizations is Microsoft Sharepoint.  A great tool on so many levels such as:

• Collaboration and Social Computing
• Portal
• Enterprise Search
• ECM…

…and that is just a few of the many features.

But…out of the box…it is ugly!

And I think that it is losing customers in the long run.

In this day and age, with iTunes and google, organizations are not only looking for good collaboration software…but software that is intuitive.  Sharepoint falls short out of the box.  Although the features are strong, it does not look as “snazzy” or user friendly.  And yes, I know security and working with other enterprise applications is important, but if your users cannot figure out how to navigate/post/delete then they will not use it.

Microsoft does have Sharepoint Designer (separate) and third party organizations that can “make it user friendly”, organizations see that as one more cost and a new vendor into the equation.

And when software is competing against each other…during the finalist presentations, the organization will only see out of the box…which lacks a user friendly interface.  In my opinion, they would be better served incorporating a user friendly interface out of the box.

Idea: Corporate Widget for e-mail

As I mentioned in a previous blog, I believe that widgets for the corporation are not quite there…meaning they are nice to look at but don’t really add value to day-to-day work.  I have been giving some thought to this topic and my obsession/addiction/problem of multi-tasking triggered me into an idea.  It is all based around e-mail (as a starter) andf or those of you who (like myself) always have multiple applications open all at once.

I sometimes find that the more I have open, the slower the my applications eventually become.  Being a bit of an e-mail junkie, whenever I get a new e-mail, I open up my e-mail program.  But, depending on the temperment of my machine, this sometimes takes a while.  The problem is that it takes me out of my application I am currently working in (Word, Excel, Internet Explorer), into another one.

So, what I would like to see is the ability to add an e-mail widget to any application I have on my desktop.  So, if I am in MS Word (or any application), I would like the ability to add a widget to the toolbar

Photo from Dave Duarte via Flickr

Thus, when I rceive a new e-mail, I can see it it the application I am working in – and I can open the e-mail message without leaving my application.

This would be helpful even to add this widget to my desktop…thus, not having to run my e-mail application when I am logged on.

Anyway, that is what I thought about over the Christmas holidays.

Gen Y in your workplace

There is a great guest post over on Chris Brogan’s blog by Teresa Wu in regards to Gen Y workers.  Some key points:

• We crave personal development
• We pursue unconventional path
• We value company culture
• We’re not afraid to ask
• We embrace transparency
• We just want to do what we love

It’s interesting to look at this from a Gen X point of view (that’s me)…or from anybody who works.  Let me add comments to a couple of the points:

We Crave Personal Development

It’s odd but many enterprise workers view personal development as something that needs to be done for your year end review.  Although we always need “worker bees”, the ‘craving’ part is missing.  But maybe to get the craving, you need the passion?

We value Company Culture

Company culture for a lot of organizations is something that is driven from the very top down.  Most people accept this…and don’t try to change it.  It seems the Gen Y’s are not afraid to change it…but the change is for productivity.   And if this cannot happen, then they take their talents elesewhere.  Beats working in a job that has lost it’s fun (or killed your spirit).

We’re not afraid to ask

If you don’t ask, they won’t know what you want.  Interesting how this can alleviate company ‘negative’ culture by getting the questions answered before they take a life of their own.

So, although this is what Gen Y want in the workplace, it would be wise for the “older” generations to leverage some of their wants for their own benefit.

What is Social Media?

Sometimes it’s good to be plain and simple.  And lots of big letters.  Here is a great slideshare by Lee White

Posting Anonymously within the Enterprise

I was chatting with someone yesterday in regards to giving people the ability to post information in anonymously within an enterprise. I have gone from one extreme to the other on this issue. When the first communities came out, I was in favour of allowing anonymous postings for the following reasons:

• Wanted to encourage participation for everyone (not just members)
• If your organization does not have single sign-on (thus administrator sets up new users), a bottleneck of new requests could hinder adoption and  people up and losing their ‘current thoughts’
• It could help those who might need some time to get comfortable with posting information publicly (anonymous at first)

But, as our community began to grow, I saw the disadvantages of this idea:

• Not being able to connect to people
• Accountability is weaker (which can lead to abuse)
• Sense of community is diminished
• Feedback/comments are not as “valued”

One of the advantages of rolling out social media in an organization is to help people connect. Anonymous postings take away this plus and in some instances, can make it a negative.

Are you aware of Social Media?

www.gapingvoid.com

Yes, maybe this is a little bit crude. But after I read it the third time, the impact of this statement really sunk in. Go ahead. Read a few more times.

I think there are a number of people in the enterprise who need to read this statement. Maybe shirts or buttons can be made so others can see.

Because really, if you don’t know what I am talking about, and you need this explained to you; at this point you are already behind…and the time it takes to explain, you will be further.

My suggestion to get up to speed? If you want t adopt 2.0, then the time to begin acting that way is NOW! Don’t make your decisions the old way (steering committee, PowerPoint presentations, etc) and open up the doors to your bottom workers. Post a blog on what people think/know of web 2.0. Let the people tell you what it is, what they need, what is the value. Because ultimately, these are the people who will not only be using it…but the people who will create, build upon and drive value from these applications.