IT in the News - Enterprise Social Networking

Enterprise Social Networking : 

Amira Colee Hiep Pham Andrew McClung Kevin Kearns Enterprise Social Networking

Slide 2: 

Introduction What is Enterprise Social Networking (ESN)? Characteristics and examples of ESN Potential Downsides Benefits of ESN Case Study of ESN: Accenture The evolution of ESN

What is Enterprise Social Networking (ESN)? : 

What is Enterprise Social Networking (ESN)? Enterprise social networking (ESN): Sometimes referred to as Enterprise 2.0 Used to enhance the ability to communicate and collaborate. Takes social networking tools and applies them to business settings ?

Characteristics: : 

Characteristics: User-friendly look Business-specific applications Multiple communication systems Security Scalability Interaction with legacy software Video and multimedia capabilities

ESN Software Platforms : 

ESN Software Platforms

Downsides to implementation : 

Downsides to implementation Cost/benefit Negative perception Security and privacy Lack of familiarity or adoption

The Benefits of Enterprise Social Networking : 

The Benefits of Enterprise Social Networking Increased Collaboration Valuable Resource for Knowledge & Information Cost Savings

Increased Collaboration: : 

Increased Collaboration: Employee profiles can be used to determine skill set needed throughout the entire organization (especially useful for multi-national businesses in different time zones). Gives employees another means of communication that some are more comfortable with or find easier to use (some people don’t like face-to-face meetings or language barriers make it difficult to speak in the same language).

Valuable Resource for Knowledge & Information: : 

Valuable Resource for Knowledge & Information: Stored visible and searchable records of interaction between employees. Other employees not involved in the original interaction can search, view, and analyze past interactions to gain insights, recommendations, or solutions to current problems.

Cost Savings: : 

Cost Savings: Can help avoid costly phone charges and unnecessary travel expenses.

Accenture Enterprise Social Networking : 

Accenture Enterprise Social Networking Business Problem: Employees found collaborative tools available to them was lacking Increased travel and communication costs Reduced team productivity

Business Plan : 

Business Plan Collaboration 2.0 Initiative launched in 2007 Initiative centered around the inclusion of the following capabilities: A social networking “Facebook-like” tool for sharing employee profiles and experiences Communities of practice within Accenture set to use common tools such as wikis, blogs, news feeds, and subscription Use of enterprise-wide chat and virtual meeting solution geared towards communication cost reduction Global videoconferencing solution designed to hold virtual meetings and reduce operational costs such as business travel and productivity hours lost Twitter-type feeds in a secure environment, designed to connect Accenture employees more closely

Accenture People : 

Accenture People Accenture People designed to provide a collaborative business networking site where employee profiles are stored and searchable by other Accenture employees Benefits include: Storage of professional and personal profile Blogging capabilities Colleague tracking alerts Knowledge Expert searches

Accenture Groups : 

Accenture Groups Accenture Groups designed to allow employees in the same areas of expertise to create communities of practice for increased knowledge sharing/management capabilities Benefits of Accenture Groups: Improved teamwork and collaboration Discussion forums News feeds Bookmarks and subscriptions Wikis Blogs

Communication and Virtual Meetings : 

Communication and Virtual Meetings Adoption of corporate-wide use of Office Communicator: Internal and external secure instance messaging with clients Desktop sharing capabilities Advanced conference call scheduling capabilities Telepresence implementation globally: Improved Business-to-Business exchange that enables video-conferencing with over 50 companies and clients Reduced travel costs Reduced carbon footprint

The Evolution of ESN:Two Paths : 

The Evolution of ESN:Two Paths Internal Evolution: A platform for cultivating knowledge and an input for strategic decision-making External Evolution: A tool for personalized and intimate customer service and relationship management

Internal Evolution : 

Internal Evolution Internal communication platform to tool for cultivating knowledge Contribution to KM strategy Experiential knowledge net Codified knowledge enabler Discussion can turn into formal “best-practices”

Internal Evolution… : 

Internal Evolution… Internal communication platform to tool for S.W.O.T. Contribution to strategic direction The pulse of the stakeholders Employees are customers; or similar to customers Wealth of knowledge about the market

External Evolution : 

External Evolution Highly personalized customer service “Enterprise software tools that support social functionality are finally ready to be turned "inside out" to support external customer experiences...” – John Brunswick “Kevin” instead of service rep Reinforce or reinvigorate the brand

External Evolution : 

External Evolution Architecture is in Place Open it to the customer / let them in “By using service-based components to deliver this solution, it is an excellent way to give customers higher levels of treatment without requiring much effort above what is being done already.” – John Brunswick

Conclusion… : 

Conclusion… Enterprise social networking is gaining broader acceptance Companies are leveraging its capabilities to improve internal processes Proper use of Enterprise Social Networking will lead to significant business transformations

References : 

References http://www.newsgator.com/accenture-video-case-study-2010.aspx http://www.accenture.com/us-en/Pages/success-accenture-working-better-collaboration-2-summary.aspx http://www.accenture.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/PDF/162PeopleCredential.pdf http://www.accenture.com/us-en/Pages/service-connecting-accenture-collaboration-2.aspx http://www.gautamblogs.com/2010/12/roi-of-enterprise-20-at-accenture.html eWeek; 7 Things Needed for an Enterprise Social Network; Kolakowski, Nicholas;3/12/2009; http://www.eweek.com Socialtext; Products & Services: Product Demo; http://www.socialtext.com. Wikipedia; Enterprise social networking; http://en.wikipedia.org