ABI didn't include us in their recent social software report, which perplexes me a bit, but we'll chalk it up to the characteristics of a nascent market. But as early as it is in the social software arms race, there are clear cut leaders beginning to emerge. Whether it's enterprise social computing, online communities, or web 2.0 platforms, I think most of us agree that its fundamentally about creating better ways to communicate. The companies that are able to innovate their platforms quickly enough and stay flexible when it comes to playing nicely with other vendors are the ones that will grab the most market share.
If anything, the strong enterprise 1.0 message espoused by ABI analyst Zippy Aima should give customers confidence as they move toward selecting an enterprise partner for social computing. Aima poses her top 3 questions you should ask when you're ready to begin your social software strategy.
- What specific features does the enterprise need or want? Each platform has differentiating feature sets and applications. Also, consider integrating enterprise applications with the networking platform. Some providers have greater integration capabilities than others.
- Consider security measures. An organization -- especially a large enterprise -- will want to ensure that content and messages exchanged across the platform remain within the network. Research the level of security that each solution offers.
- Evaluate the ease of implementing the platform throughout the enterprise. What if it becomes a burden to log in and access? Also consider the amount of time it will take users to learn and adopt. As for cost, Aima says that most of the available solutions are delivered in the software-as-a-service model, offering low-cost subscriptions.
What else do you want to know from your social networking vendor?
