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Web 2.0 in the Enterprise

Web 2.0 found its first adopters in individual contributors, but as with every innovation, business adoption was soon to follow. Today, not only high-tech enterprises are scrambling to benefit from the innovations in communication and collaboration that Web 2.0 has to offer. The term "Enterprise 2.0" has been coined to describe businesses on the bleeding edge of the Web 2.0 revolution. Such businesses often share the following characteristics:

Control over unique, hard-to-recreate data sources

Harnessing the collective intelligence both inside and outside an organization results in a rich and ever-expanding repository of information and knowledge. As participation and interaction grows, these sources become even more enriched with unique and invaluable data.

Trusting users as co-developers

Employing lightweight and loosely-coupled systems provides those individuals most impacted by a service to contribute to its design and function. The benefactor of these services - users - become the functional drivers behind its fundamental capabilities, thus reflecting their base requirements and instinctive method of interaction with others.

Harnessing collective intelligence

Probably the most valuable aspect to Web 2.0, harnessing and leveraging the collective intelligence of others provides the viral base of contributors that continually improve and increase the rich information repository available to new and current participants.

Leveraging the long tail

Small sites make up the bulk of the internet's content; efficiently reaching and leveraging this aspect of the internet requires a focused self-service model that has a built-in viral communication mechanism.

Lightweight user interfaces, development models, and business models

Fostering broad participation without monolithic controls requires a new approach to interface design and business process models. These structures and supporting processes must be simple and lightweight, affording users the opportunity to not only participate, but ultimately change the experience itself.