Tag: Web 2.0

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Enterprise 2.0

IBM’s virtual desktop, minus Microsoft: will it float?

Following on from my musings yesterday on Forrester’s report on 2.0, it’s noteworthy that today sees a Wall Street Journal article that IBM have announced a whole new virtual desktop, which being  Linux+Notes, means no Microsoft products. Using a Microsoft free, Virtual Linux (et al) Desktop CNET notes, means cost savings of 50% – up to $800 per user. Their only qualm is that data will be stored centrally online, which strikes me as a bit of a red herring as I can’t see any serious corporate storing data without central back-ups.

What struck me here was the fact that this system means the Techs in central can also deploy collaboration software to their users. This package is a mix of Red Hat and Notes Domino and acording to IBM this brings a big plus:

Using Red Hat to host the Notes Domino platform provides the stability of Red Hat using a very strong collaboration suite that should meet any company’s needs. The suite can provide email, team rooms, document storage and very much more. Starting with version 8 it comes with Symphony, a free office suite built by IBM using the OpenOffice core code. 

Will it float? I think this depends on the richnness of the delivery. Central IT and Finance may see benefits in terms of cash and robustness, but can it deliver the sort of 2.0 experience that an increasingly social-media savvy employee base expects? Going on the last time I played with Domino, the answer would seem ‘No’, but that was one hell of a long time ago…

Categories
Enterprise 2.0

Pownce pounced

News is that Six Apart have bought up Pownce in order to close it down. Chris Nuttall in the FT cites a Friendfeed commentator stating that Pownce CEO Kevin Rose was spending more time on Twitter than his own product:

“That’s like the CEO of Pepsi being seen drinking Coke, if you can’t stand behind your product, how do you expect us to?”

What’s going to be interesting is how many of these small 2.0 companies get Crunched up by their bigger rivals never to see the light of day again…

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Communications Enterprise 2.0 Intranet

No IT please, we’re in IT

Computing.co.uk cite a somewhat disturbing report in from the UK’s Chartered Management Institute (CMI) that reports that of the UK’s IT companies, 5% don’t use e-mail and 26% have no intranet. In addition, blocking and monitoring content is more common than not. However, from a brighter perspective there’s a lot of green field enterprises out there, waiting to venture into pastures 2.0,  well so long as they survive the crunch…

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Communications Enterprise 2.0

CEOs more 2.0 savvy than their managers

CEO beware. It’s official, or at least as official as it gets – Economist Intelligence Unit interviewed 406 top bosses and found they were more attuned to social media benefits than their middle management. Or as the EIU puts it:

“These findings point to a possible disconnect between the corner office and the rest of the organization on how to best incorporate Web 2.0 practices into business.”

Key findings of the report include:

  • Customers are helping to develop and support products.
  • Ease of acquiring and supporting customers provide the biggest financial benefits.
  • Early adopters are to be found in many countries and industries.
  • The C-suite is more enthusiastic than lower-level executives.
  • CFOs are the most skeptical about the potential of Web 2.0.

To download a copy of the report, visit www.fastsearch.com/EIU

Update: great review from Bill Ives on FastForward: Economist Finds True Believers in Business Value of Social Software

Categories
Communications Enterprise 2.0

30 Day Tail?

Of note if one believes in synchronicity is that fact that at the same time as I join The 30 Day Challenge, a trimumph of Long-tailism, with its aim of generating $10 in the said same days, then Wired Ed Chris Anderson admits that Tailism isn’t quite as sound as he thought. Or, as The Register puts it, Anderson downgrades Long Tail to Chocolate Teapot status.

Be that as it may. I’m going to try The 30 Day Challenge and see what it brings forth. It looks rather fortuitous to me…

Back to the Tail, this tidy little essay contrasting empirical data with the theory is pertinent, The Long Fail: Web 2.0’s faith meets the facts. ‘In God I trust, all others bring data’ comes to mind. Back firmly in the Real World, the data in makes sombre reading: Tech layoffs: The scorecard.