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Simple Definition of Enterprise 2.0

by Bill Ives

September 23, 2009 at 3:54 pm · Filed under Event Announcements

I enjoyed Paula Thornton’s post, E 2.0: Unleashing the Potential, especially the comment, “Digital technologies labeled Enterprise 2.0, will not provide 2.0 results if implemented with 1.0 thinking.”

But what is 2.0 thinking? Paula mentions that it embraces dichotomy and that structure is minimized, but not eliminated. I would agree on both counts.

There has been a lot of other discussion about what is enterprise 2.0. People have said that it is not about the technology and Andy McAfee has said, It’s Not Not About the Technology. Again, I would agree on both counts. While it is largely not about technology there has to be some consideration for technology. After all, it is enabled by digital technology and not smoke signals or telegraphs.

While I wrote that Enterprise 2.0 is not Web 2.0, there are common conceptual assumptions: transparency, connectivity, and participation. Within enterprise 2.0 this occurs within the enterprise. I think the greatest of these three is participation. Enterprise 2.0 are application are often referred to as bringing in the social side of whatever they are supporting (e.g., search, CRM).

Some smart person said something to the effect that Web 2.0 is about sites where the value is determined by the contributions of participants. So stealing from them here is my simple definition of enterprise 2.0.

“Enterprise 2.0 is about applications where business value is determined through the contributions of participants.”

You can quote me on this. Apologies if some one already said this.

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Adam BullockSeptember 23rd, 2009 at 6:09 pm

Simple and elegant, really solid definition.

Chris YehSeptember 23rd, 2009 at 11:03 pm

Truer words were never spoken. I will be quoting you on that, Bill.

And the importance of participation helps illustrate the centrality of collaboration to Enterprise 2.0.

Michael ThomasSeptember 24th, 2009 at 3:16 am

Everything has gone all 2.0 these days! Soon you will be getting brands re-branding themselves as 2.0 – Nike 2.0 the new generation of trainers!!!

Bill IvesSeptember 24th, 2009 at 7:22 am

Chris – Thanks for your kind words. Michael – I certainly agree with you on the over use of 2.0. That is why I was very specific and limited in what I said. Bill

Olivier AmprimoSeptember 24th, 2009 at 9:44 am

Bill,

If “Enterprise 2.0 is about applications where business value is determined through the contributions of participants.”, would you please define what is “Enterprise”?

Thank you,

Olivier

Jon HusbandSeptember 24th, 2009 at 10:26 am

Web 2.0 is about sites where the value is determined by the contributions of participants.

A number of the newer collaboration platforms (blueKiwi, Jive, Personall, Brainpark) have started to address this issue, by aggregating and / or tracking interaction around issues, business problems, etc. such that various forms of analysis and interpretation of “value” can be made.

There’s also a discussion of this half-way through “Productivity in a Networked Era – ROII (Return on Investment in Interaction)” .. as well as in a number of blog posts by various people such as Matthew Hodgson, Valdis Krebs, Patti Anklam, Jessica Lipnack, yourself, Joe McKendrick, etc.

Bill IvesSeptember 24th, 2009 at 1:51 pm

Olivier – Thanks for your comment. From my view enterprise simply means within an organization as opposed to the broader Web. It could be non-profit or for profit. There is nothing complex here. Some people also talk about the extended enterprise to include business partners. Bill

Jon InghamSeptember 30th, 2009 at 6:20 pm

Bill,

I’m a bit late to the party, but after reading this and other posts and comments, I still can;t get my head around why Enterprise 2.0 should need to refer to applications at all.

Here’s my definition, which I think comes from 2.0 thinking:

Enterprise 2.0 is an organisation than invests in the development of social capital.

You’ll find my explanation for this conclusion at:

http://blog.social-advantage.com/2009/09/my-thoughts-on-20.html.

Regards, Jon.

RotkapchenNovember 6th, 2009 at 2:38 pm

I find it ironic how readily many are enamored with your definition, Bill. A clear sign of where thinking is.

I would agree with it with one change: swapping ‘applications’ with ’systems’. Indeed, the focus on the applications is what decidedly makes something NOT qualify for Enterprise 2.0. Does that mean there are no applications involved — actually, I’d like to say yes — because they’re not applications as we classically think of applications. E2.0 is more about platforms, architecture and ‘apps’ (ala. applets, widgets, etc.) than classic applications and hardcoded processes/algorithms.

Bill IvesNovember 6th, 2009 at 4:20 pm

Paula

I agree with your change to systems as you have defined the term. It captures the spirit of what I was talking about, just clarifies better. However, I do not agree with people who suggest to take technology out altogether. While getting the non-technical issues right is the most important contributor to success, it still does involve technology. Bill