A few months ago Jeremy Thomas asked me if I would consider writing the forward for a new book he was writing with Aaron Newman. I was honored to be asked and said I would love to do it.

Today I have the final version of their hard work sitting in front of me: Enterprise 2.0 Implementation.

In a review of WikiPatterns, I called it “the first Enterprise 2.0 playbook” because it gave strategic advice on how to encourage adoption and spur interaction. In that context, Enterprise 2.0 Implementation is your Enterprise 2.0 blueprint. It provides a technical and tactical overview of how IT can understand and implement Enterprise 2.0 technologies. A book like this has been a need for a long time, and it will play a big role in taking Enterprise 2.0 mainstream.

This book covers everything from deploying Blogs and Wikis to building social networks and developing RIAs (Rich Internet Applications) and in the final chapter Aaron and Jeremy touch on Governance, Compliance, Risk Management and there is a big chapter on Security (which is one of the strongest components of the book).

Aaron and Jeremy have done a great job, and I know that a lot of blood and sweat has gone in to this. I am proud to have been asked to contribute, and I hope you will pick up the book and give it a read.

Packed with real-world examples and timesaving tips, Enterprise 2.0 Implementation shows how to use viral and social networking tools to gain the competitive edge. Get full details on managing corporate blogs, wikis, mashups, RSS feeds, tagging and bookmarking data, and RIAs. You’ll also learn how to maximize ROI, use Semantic Web technologies, and implement security.

• Expand corporate presence to Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and Ning
• Build internal social networks using open source and commercial applications
• Reduce infrastructure and IT costs through SaaS vendors
• Consolidate disparate information using Enterprise 2.0 Discovery
• Manage wikis, blogs, mashups, and RSS/Atom feeds
• Set up Rich Internet Applications
• Develop security, risk management, and disaster recovery strategies