Fyronic services & Enterprise 2.0 implementation framework

Knowledge, Innovation and Business Agility improvement through Collaboration

Fyronic - fyronic.com – Ten broucken 38 – 8700 Tielt – Belgium +32 (0)475 81 77 97 – [email protected]

Knowledge, Innovation and Business

Agility with Enterprise 2.0 Collaboration



Enterprise 2.0 This document describes what Enterprise 2.0 is and how Fyronic uses the concepts and tools named under Enterprise 2.0 to help organizations to improve knowledge, innovation and business agility.

Situation More and more companies struggle with the overload of data and information in documents, mails, intranets, websites, the internet and other information and communication channels. Every company has its own plethora of Office documents, databases, PDF documents, spreadsheets, audiovisual media, … Tools like Content and Document Management systems offer only part of a solution by centralizing those documents and information. These solutions are valid for documents in several formats but not for information which can be found in mails, chats, blogs, project planning tools, ERP, CRM and other systems. Next to that, mobility has become ubiquitous. Teams are working together from different locations (from home, from another office, while travelling towards other locations …). This means that there is a great need for the information to be available anywhere at all times. Thirdly, we also see that the new generation of employees is “digital native”. These people grew up with Internet, connectivity, mobility tools, chats, social networks, YouTube, … This generation understands perfectly that the information that can be found on these networks could be of value and that cooperation leads to more creativity, more productivity and in the end more success. 4. Web 2.0 has bundled the possibilities that the internet already possessed and it offers new ways of communication, establishment of communities and rich internet applications leading to unlimited possibilities for the web users to collaborate and share ideas. The success story of social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn are only a few examples.



The story of Wikipedia is a clear example that communities have a world of knowledge and that this knowledge can be registered, managed and shared. The creativity and innovation that emerges in these communities is tremendous and tools like Drupal and other open source developments are proof of this.



The concept

What are Enterprise 2.0 and Enterprise Social software?

The web used to be an information platform from where companies and people could retrieve information. In the last few years it has become more and more an application platform where people interact, create and innovate. Called Web 2.0, it was the rise of the web as a platform of communities and participation. Blogs, Wiki’s, social networking, tagging, social bookmarking etc. are all hugely successful tools that enable people to have a voice and create their own space online. It allows people to work together from all over the world. It’s about participation and interaction. The user has control and chooses the content he/she want.



“Enterprise 2.0 is Web 2.0 for the organization. “ Web 2.0 tools are now mature and being used inside the organization for a number of years in big international organizations like, IBM, Cisco, Pfizer etc. Enterprise 2.0 is the use of web 2.0 tools in the organization for collaboration and sharing knowledge, technologies like wikis, blogs, social networking, mashups, RSS, tagging, folksonomies etc. You can find a few definitions concerning Enterprise 2.0 below: According to Wikipedia:

“Enterprise social software, also known as Enterprise 2.0, is a term describing social software used in "enterprise" (business) contexts. It includes social and networked modifications to company intranets and other classic software platforms used by large companies to organize their communication. In contrast to traditional enterprise software, which imposes structure prior to use, enterprise social software tends to encourage use prior to providing structure.”

Andrew McAfee, Associate Professor, Harvard Business School, defines Enterprise 2.0 as

“The use of emergent social software platforms within companies, or between companies and their partners or customers. • Social software enables people to rendezvous, connect or collaborate through

computer-mediated communication and to form online communities. • Platforms are digital environments in which contributions and interactions are

globally visible and persistent over time. • Emergent means that the software is freeform, and that it contains mechanisms to

let the patterns and structure inherent in people’s interactions become visible over time.

• Freeform means that the software is most or all of the following; o Optional o Free of up-front workflow o Egalitarian, or indifferent to formal organizational identities

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_software

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_software

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterprise

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intranet

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communication

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterprise_software

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterprise_software

http://blog.hbs.edu/faculty/amcafee/



o Accepting of many types of data

Social software for an enterprise must according to McAfee have the following functionality to work well: • Search: allow users to search for other users or contents • Links: group similar users or content together • Authoring: include blogs and wikis • Tags: allow users to tag content • Extensions: recommendations of users or content based on profile • Signals: allow people to subscribe to users or content with RSS feeds

He recommends that the software must be easy to use and not impose any rigid structure for users. The roll-out should be informal, but on a common platform to enable future collaboration between areas. He also recommends strong and visible managerial support to achieve this.

Enterprise 2.0 compared with other Enterprise Applications

Enterprise 2.0 offers new possibilities to share information, to collaborate in new and more efficient ways and to absorb and to spread the acquired knowledge in a way that improves the agility of the organization. There are other domains in which gathering information is the goal. Domains that are closely related to Enterprise 2.0 are:

• CRM • Document Management solutions • (Enterprise, Web) Content

Management solutions • Knowledge management solutions • Groupware solutions • Communication platforms (mail, chat,

voice) • Solutions for planning and

http://blog.hbs.edu/faculty/amcafee/



organization.

The typical functionalities in an Enterprise 2.0 solution are: Chat, email, (shared) calendar, workspaces, document and content management, social networking functions, wiki’s, blogs, social bookmarking, tagging. What makes Enterprise 2.0 different is it is user centric not process or technology centric.

What Fyronic does: “Fyronic helps organizations to harness the power of the new interactive web, WEB 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0 concepts and tools to improve innovation, enhance business agility and increase knowledge creation. Using existing tools Fyronic rebuilds the intranet/extranet/website so it becomes an interactive collaboration platform” In other words: Fyronic offers solutions for companies who: - Want to improve the creation, capturing and managing of information and knowledge

within their organization in the most efficient way - Want to use their collective intelligence (knowledge) to the full extend. - Want to raise the creativity of their teams to a higher level and therefore also foster

innovation. - Want to increase collaboration and communication throughout the whole organization

Therefore we offer 3 service areas:

Consulting: We advise organizations on how to create a collaborative environment using Enterprise 2.0 concepts.

To achieve that we approach the organization from 3 different angles:



Organisation Culture : The HR factor Processes : The Operations Factor Technology : The Technology Factor We give advice on each of these elements and how to bring them together to set up a continuous improvement framework for knowledge, innovation and business agility Organization Culture or Cultural Change management. Enterprise 2.0 centers on the user and his/her job. It is mainly not about technology. The technology is merely the enabler of the possibilities. It is the user’s creativity and action/interaction that activates the collaboration platform. It is the users who bring value to the network. Introducing these new ways of interacting and collaboration necessitates a change of behaviour for many people. Sharing information and knowledge is in many organizations not the norm. Changing this culture is an important task in the success of an Enterprise 2.0 project. Fyronic manages this cultural change and coaches people on how to use these tools to create value for themselves and for the company.



Processes or Implementation: Business processes keep a business organized and efficient. For an Enterprise 2.0 project to be successful, the use of these tools needs to integrate into the existing processes of the organization. Integrating these new ways of collaborating and the necessary existing business processes is a key element and point of attention for any Enterprise 2.0 project. Fyronic introduces these Enterprise 2.0 collaboration platforms in line with the existing core processes. Technology. Although Enterprise 2.0 isn’t mainly about technology, it is still the enabler of the new collaboration paradigm. Installation, configuration, integration of solutions and the development of the specific functionalities within the company and the integration with other business applications like ERP, CRM … are part of the equation. And they are an important part. Choosing the right tools for the job is part of Fyronic’s offering and expertise.

Out-of-the-box solutions : there are a number of existing solutions that have all that is needed to start with a collaboration platform in just a few days (at least, from a technical point of view) Fyronic has selected some of these tools and tested them for functionality, stability and flexibility. We offer them in a SaaS solution model and we can assist in on-premise installation and configuration of them. The tools we have selected so far are: SocialText, Cyn.in, Jive , BlueKiwi, Open Atrium And we are continuously researching the market for other software platforms that allow for better collaboration. We are following the latest developments in Open Source and commercial software regarding Enterprise 2.0, innovation and collaboration.



Introduction to Implementing Enterprise 2.0 for Innovation and collaboration.

Before you can start implementing any tool for collaboration, you need to assess whether the organization is ready to deal with the consequences of such a new environment. Web 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0 collaboration platforms can have a profound impact on the organization. They change the way people interact, collaborate and communicate but they have an impact on how authority is perceived too. And for this reason alone, they can change the relationship between employer and employee. So, in order for an Enterprise 2.0 project to succeed, you need to know whether the organization is ready to accept the prerequisites and consequences of such a project. Secondly you have to assure that you have a change management framework that can deal with the upcoming changes of the new environment. Finally, assessing the benefits and risks involved in an Enterprise 2.0 project and the potential impact on the organization is also a necessary exercise. Defining and addressing the benefits and risks will make it easier to counter potential problems while implementing and it helps to keep in mind what the goals are.



The Implementation framework (*)

(*) This implementation model is derived from Ross Dawson’s Enterprise 2.0 Implementation Framework, in his book: Implementing Enterprise 2.0. His book can be found here: http://implementingenterprise2.com/

There are 4 phases in an Enterprise 2.0 implementation plan that iterates to generate a continuous stream of innovation, knowledge building and agility.

1. Assess & define 2. Create & enable 3. Deploy & support 4. Adopt & learn

http://implementingenterprise2.com/



Assess & define

Understanding business drivers for Enterprise 2.0 Why does the organization consider Enterprise 2.0, is the first question one should ask. Enterprise 2.0 has many benefits and impacts businesses on various levels but what does the organization expect from a collaboration platform?

• Is it the ongoing acceleration of the business environment that is the main driver for change?

• Or is it the fact that we operate more and more in a global arena instead of a local space?

• Do you want to leverage on the creativity of your teams, partners customers and be able to innovate faster?

• Or is it increasing business flexibility towards the rapidly changing environment?

Whatever the reason, and there can be several, they should be mapped to the key benefits that an Enterprise collaboration platform can bring to the organization:

• Improved internal collaboration • Improved external collaboration and communication • Greater efficiency • Centralize information from otherwise decentralized systems (like email) • Greater mobility of staff and ability to handle distributed work • Faster and more innovation • Improved external and internal reputation of the organization • Better use of the collective intelligence of the organization • Increased business agility (shorter decision processes, faster

communication, better innovation … ) Identify risks and barriers

With every change, there are risks involved. But not changing implies potentially an even greater risk. (think about losing competitive advantage, loss of reputation, decrease of potential of hiring new talent , proliferation of information systems, unauthorized use of external tools etc.)



Identifying risks and addressing them is an important part of any major project. It is no less important when introducing an Enterprise collaboration platform into the organization. Some of the risks that need to be addressed are:

• Perceived Loss of control • Altered employer-employee relationship • Concerns about reputation • Risk of Productivity loss • Reliability of the solutions • Security of the solutions • Use of IT resources.

Undoubtedly these are all concerns or risks, but when addressed properly they can be anticipated and minimized or countered.

Define and prioritize business applications of Enterprise 2.0 When starting with a plethora of possible applications (=uses) it is important to define what to do first. Not all applications will fit the organization or will be successful. Finding the business use with most relevance and potentiality for success is key in the start of the project.

Create & Enable

Define vision & goals When it is acknowledged that the organization is ready for the potential changes that an enterprise collaboration platform can evoke, defining the vision and goals for the project is the next stage. It is the translation of the business applications, risk assessment and expectations into concrete goals for the chosen applications. When setting goals like improvement of knowledge management or innovation rate increase, it is not easy to define metrics for evaluation. It is therefore advisable to translate these intangible goals into more tangible, measurable goals.



Setup governance & policies of use

Whether you believe in a bottom-up approach or a top-down approach, it is always good practice to think about a governance structure when rolling out a companywide project. Typical governance elements are:

Assign a project manager Establish a sponsor that can take decisions Identify the stakeholders and their interests. Identify key project risks Define and communicate policies. Set IT guidelines in line with IT architecture

Because Enterprise collaboration platforms introduce easy tools for communication, it is wise to take enough time to consider what communication guidelines/policies need to be in place internally and externally. Especially when Enterprise 2.0 tools are being used with customers, partners or other external parties, the responsible department for communication should be involved. As with email there is always the risk that someone says something inappropriate. But worse than saying something inadvertently wrong is not having a strategy for dealing with it when it occurs.

Create business case and select pilot

To justify the project in terms of time, costs, resources etc. it might be relevant to write down the business case. It depends however on the organization’s culture regarding documentation and formalization of processes. If the pilot is small scale or if the organization is used to working in an ‘agile’ fashion, as in agile development, then a business case might not be necessary. If you do write a business case, consider including these topics:

• Reference - Project name/reference, Origins/background/current state • Context - Business objectives/opportunities, Business strategic alignment

(priority)



• Value Proposition - Desired business outcomes, Outcomes roadmap, Business benefits (by outcome), Quantified benefits value, Costs/ROI Financial scenarios, Risks/costs of not proceeding, Project risks

• Focus - Problem/solution scope, Assumptions/constraints, Options identified/evaluated, Size, scale and complexity assessment

• Deliverables - Outcomes, deliverables and benefits planned, Organizational areas impacted (internally and externally), Key stakeholders, Dependencies

• Workload - Approach, Phase/stage definitions (Project (change) activities, Technical delivery activities, Workload estimate/breakdown, Project plan and schedule, Critical path)

• Required resources - Project leadership team, Project governance team, Team resources, Funding

• Commitments (required) - Project controls, Reporting processes, Deliverables schedule, Financial budget/schedule

Deploy & support

Select software platform and deploy The selection of the software platform or the Enterprise Collaboration platform should be in line with the goals and the expectations that the stakeholders have. One of the key aspects of Enterprise 2.0 tools is that they allow for experimenting. Emergence is an important element in the evolution of an Enterprise 2.0 collaboration platform. Nevertheless, it is important to at least in the beginning set goals for use and be aware of the expectations. Even though Enterprise 2.0 is not mainly about the technology, it is the base on which the whole environment is going to be built on. This makes it fairly important, not only functionally but surely (and perhaps even more so) technically. Some basic considerations when choosing the platform: Functionality, easy of use, scalability, stability, security, maintainability and interoperability should at least be considered.



After choosing, deployment is the next step. Deployment means more than installing the software and configuring it. It also includes training the people to use it (most important!) and setting up a support system for when users have questions or when there is a technical problem. To make sure people are interested in using the new environment, a good practice is to sell it internally. Creating an actual marketing plan to sell the platform internally can help adoption quite a lot. It is well worth the effort.

Find and support advocates Adoption will happen when people find ways to use the platform in ways you have not foreseen. Before you arrive at that though, you’ll have to make a start with ensuring that you find the people who are eager to use it and do so. Adoption doesn’t come overnight. It needs to be nurtured and guided. It needs to be supported. The advocates are your best bet that more and more people will participate. To help your advocates on their way, it helps to give them a head start. You shouldn’t leave them to start with a blank slate. Here are some starters:

Activate the collaboration environment by defining some specific tasks to perform by using it.

Fill it up. Don’t let them start on a blank page. Involve management and senior management. They should give the

example. Make work easier, not harder. People will not use a tool freely if it makes

their work harder. Encourage formulating opinions and express thoughts on professional

topics. Develop communities to breed ideas



Leverage advocates and senior management participation Once you have found your advocates and support them in creating an environment that allows for sharing and participation, you should involve senior management. In the adoption process, senior management has a guiding role. It must show that participation is encouraged. It also shows that openness is appreciated. There’s another role for management and senior management and that is leadership. More than ever, it will become necessary for management not only to manage resource but to lead people. But that’s another topic all together.

Adopt & learn

Learn from pilots/projects When pilots or projects are running and a proper governance structure has been set up, pilots and projects will generate a lot of interesting lessons from each iteration. From each success and from each failure lessons can be drawn for the next iteration or the next project. Experimenting with uses for Enterprise 2.0 tools is a necessary element in the continuous improvement of the organization (remember Kaizen).

Identify & leverage success stories

When a project or pilot is successful it should be studied to determine what made it successful. They should be used as examples to further drive adoption and to serve as creative triggers for other projects or business applications.

Drive adoption and cultural change programs. As said earlier: adoption doesn’t come overnight. It is a process that takes time.

From past experiences with technology implementations and adoption thereof, it has been long established that there are different phases in technology adoption:



Technology Adoption Phases

Enterprise 2.0 adoption will not be much different. The innovators are the people introducing the new concepts and tools and the advocates are amongst the innovators and early adopters. When the first business cases have been completed successfully the next project might get the early majority with them, but only if adoption and cultural change programs are in place and relentlessly pursued. Then the rest of the organization will follow, even if not willingly in some cases.

Benefits. There are many benefits of an Enterprise Collaboration platform both tangible and intangible. In most organizations the decreased stream of inefficient email traffic is one of the most visible benefits. Or in other cases, the fact that communication and information about projects, topics, etc are kept in one place instead of spread over different systems. Just a few other benefits that have been observed in Enterprise 2.0 projects:

- Productivity & efficiency improvement - Faster innovation & product development - Reduced information overload (email, intranet) - Better and faster internal communication - Greater staff engagement - More collaborative behavior - Enhanced knowledge management - Increase brand visibility & reputation

And there are more…



Return on Investment: What I did not cover in this paper is ROI. It is surely an important topic in the equation of Enterprise 2.0 project success. But I feel it deserves a paper in itself. And I would not do justice to the complexity of ROI calculation if I would include it in this paper. For completion, let me say that it is possible to calculate the ROI of Enterprise 2.0 project up to a level. But when it comes to measuring the return of intangible benefits like: enhanced knowledge creation and use, or the impact of a faster innovation rate on the bottom-line, it becomes difficult and even impossible to calculate this return directly. If goals are set properly, meaning that when setting them the measurability has at least been taken into consideration, then the success of a pilot or project can be measured against these goals. What the impact is on intangible assets like the ones mentioned before will perhaps become clear in part, when the profit margins are calculated and compared with pre-Enterprise 2.0 investments.



About the author: Franky Redant, Founder of Fyronic The easy way to find out about the author and founder of Fyronic is to go to LinkedIn. (http://www.linkedin.com/in/frankyredant) You’ll find a full profile there. And here’s a summary. Franky Redant has been involved in Internet companies from the

early days of the Internet in Belgium, since 1993. He co-founded the first web-building company in Belgium called The Reference. For the ten years following, he evolved from system engineer and developer to project and program manager to finally COO and CIO of one of most successful Internet businesses in Belgium at that time. During that period he also co-founded several other companies involving an Internet news service, a search-engine and portal project and a software application vendor building a suite of applications to enable the mobile web. He also co-founded Nonillion, a software service company focusing on front-end and back-end software development for web platforms (CRM, CMS, webservices etc.) where he was COO and CIO again. He also led the Bulgarian sister company Nonillion Bulgaria as a CEO. With his Operations, Quality Assurance and IT background and his expertise with how knowledge workers collaborate and innovate in a company environment, he helps organizations to become more effective and efficient using Web 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0 concepts and tools.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/frankyredant



Contact us: We’re always happy to give a one-hour introduction on Collaboration with Enterprise 2.0 and to explain how this leads to knowledge, innovation and business agility improvement.

You can find us at:

Fyronic.com Ten Broucken 38

8700 Tielt Belgium +32 475 81 77 97 [email protected]

You can also follow Fyronic and the author on:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/franky_redant Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fyronic/119906781356910

mailto:[email protected]

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