The Recession-Ready Wiki

Last week, I co-hosted a webinar with Aberdeen. The title of the presentation was: The Recession-Ready Wiki: Surviving the Economic Storm through Sales Collaboration and Knowledge Management. It is now available as a replay link on the eTouch site.

At its base form, it was a discussion about how Enterprise 2.0 collaboration and knowledge management tools can benefit sales organizations in selling more effectively in these challenging times. The statistics and findings presented by Alex Jefferies, senior research associate at Aberdeen Group, were pulled from two recent reports he published – Sales 2.0: Social Media for Knowledge Management and Sales Collaboration published September 2008, and Sales Intelligence: The Secret to Sales Nirvana, which he will publish at the end of January.

Alex says: “The recent challenges in the economic landscape have necessitated the urgent search for tools that immediately and effectively deliver a positive return on investments. Enterprise 2.0 tools present an evolutionary approach to improve the efficiency of processes and productivity of your workforce in these times.”

In his presentation, Alex pointed out that in these difficult economic times, there’s an increased need for better and more accessible sales intelligence and that companies can stay ahead by worker smarter, not necessarily harder. These are two driving forces behind the movement towards the use of wikis in the enterprise.

He also spent some time talking about what the best-in-class, or most successful companies in their fields, are doing and how they’re differentiating themselves in the market. More often than not, this includes embracing new technologies like enterprise wikis to push forward.

The webinar provides a lot of useful information, and I recommend you listen to it. You can also download the Sales 2.0 report. It’s worth the time. And if you have any questions about it, contact me.

Here's to 2009

The holiday season has quickly passed us by. It never seems to go on long enough, does it? The weather has been crazy, the economy is in flux; yet people took time out to appreciate family, friends and enjoy themselves. That's what I love about the holidays.

Now it's back to the grind. And there's much to be optimistic about -- a new year and new beginnings. But let me focus on business.

The Enterprise 2.0 marketplace is burgeoning. Early adopters are realizing returns on their investments, and more companies are catching on to the potential of wikis and other software solutions for collaboration and knowledge management challenges. Think these types of solutions aren't going mainstream? Charlie Rose of PBS aired an interview last week with Léo Apotheker, co-CEO and a member of the Executive Board of SAP AG, and Andrew Mcafee of the Technology and Operations Management Unit at Harvard Business School about enterprise software. I read about it first on Stewart Mader's blog.

The interview stressed about enterprise software solutions can help corporations manage fragmented technology systems, departments to better manage the company and lead the company to greater success. Oliver Marks of ZDnet also wrote about the interview. He wrote: "This TV appearance is a fascinating indication of how much more seriously Enterprise 2.0 is being taken in the current economic predicament." It's a really interesting interview and something we've been talking about recently as well. It's definitely worth a watch.

2009 has the potential to be a defining year for social software - a year in which wikis, blogs, and plugins, etc. will become part of mainstream technology conversations. And, it brings with it the promise of solving collaboration woes across industries.

I'll toast to that.

Wikis and Intel

In business, it's important to align your company with strong partners. It provides added credibility, street cred and benefits. In the case of my enterprise wiki software, eTouch SamePage, we're now a part of the Intel® Software Partner Program.

Through its partner program, Intel offers tools, resources, technology and expertise to help drive top line growth; and by assisting partners from both the technology and marketing angles. From a technology standpoint, it enables a partner to get a better understanding of roadmaps and Intel’s view of the future. From a business perspective, it enables tons of Intel partners to discover and find solutions for their business needs – thereby providing valuable mindshare and exposure.

For these reasons, we believe Intel's technology solutions can further enhance our dynamic enterprise wiki product and help us accomplish goals in a timely manner. This will help to improve our competitive advantage. Plus, Intel is highly respected brand in the tech and business worlds, and we're proud to be associated with the company.

Wikis continue to charm and delight corporations worldwide with their intuitive, friendly, yet powerful approach to solving collaboration aches. SamePage’s partnership with Intel is yet another step towards realizing its potential in this exciting marketplace.

Wikis in Academia, Part II

I've posted before about wikis in academia. It's a very important area of potential growth for many wiki companies. At the same time, I'm sure it's a challenge for educational institutions to make investments in software; budgets everywhere are tight.

Even with upfront software-investment costs, I believe wikis are a technology that quickly earn their keep. The investment pays off in the value of the shared knowledge and collaboration.

Today, eTouch SamePage announced it has been selected by the California Institute of Technology’s (Caltech) Atwater Research Group to integrate the wiki for the group’s internal communications. The prestigious research group will use the SamePage enterprise wiki for several purposes, including project collaboration, posting manuals and procedures for lab equipment and research processes, as well as to update, comment and edit information in real time for the lab group of nearly 50 members.

“We selected SamePage because of the ease of setup, use and maintenance,” said Davis Darvish, a Caltech PhD Graduate Student and member of the Atwater Research Group. “It provides excellent features that keep our information secure and only accessible to those who are authorized. Several members of our research group have used SamePage on other projects, and we had received a number of strong recommendations about the enterprise wiki before making our final decision. Plus, it was one of the best-priced hosted full-service wikis we found.”

The members of the Atwater Research Group are obviously bright; they are engaged in interdisciplinary materials and device research, spanning photonics and electronics and with applications in Si-based photonics, plasmonics, renewable energy and mechanically active thin film devices. And so we are proud they selected SamePage among all the wiki and collaboration-software options out there.

In addition, a couple of months ago, Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in Los Angeles announced it was integrating SamePage product for use by the university's IT department, as well as other divisions, for collaboration, knowledge management and long-range planning within its IT department, the backbone for the university's systems. Specifically, LMU will use SamePage to collaborate on multiple campus projects, including the development of new student and faculty-oriented learning spaces in the university library. In addition, academic technology analysts will collaborate on research with faculty in various schools.

It's quite clear that the potential for wiki use within an academic institution is large and varied. And the uptick will continue as more realize its benefits.

Wikis: A Sign O’ The Times

In difficult economic times, companies struggle so many details, such as travel costs, productivity and increasing opportunity costs, just to name a few. The typical initial reaction is to tighten the purse strings, clamp down on spending, stop most business travel and curb expenses. For many, this can bring some elements of operation to a standstill.

On the flip side of that coin is the opportunity trying times afford companies to hone in on their core skills, focus on improving customer service and developing relationships and filling in any gaps. Collaboration and knowledge management tools can assist a company in taking great strides toward improved productivity.

I’ve read quite a few articles recently that discussed how, during times like this, companies can benefit from investing in software that will streamline their business, improve communication and collaboration. Well, that’s practically the dictionary definition of what an enterprise wiki can do.

Wikis allow companies to focus on what’s inside – the knowledge and creativity of its people. Let’s say a company decides not to proceed with the external lead generation program. Instead, salespeople are told to concentrate on the leads they have. Well, then they better become a lot more creative with the sales pitch if they’re going after leads they may already have reached out to.

With a wiki, that sales team, no matter where they are located, can collaborate online, spur creative ideas, discuss and share creative pitches that worked for someone else. With discussion forums and document sharing and editing, the European sales force can pitch in their ideas while the California sales team members are sleeping.

In Alex Jefferies’ recent Sales 2.0 report, he states: “The multitude of uses has led the majority (59%) of best-in-class companies to either leverage, or plan to leverage, internal wikis.”

The most successful companies are doing it; there must be something to it.

Some Things in Life Really Are Free

I’ve written before about wikis in academia. I believe deeply in the value of wikis in this area – for administrators, professors, researchers, as well as for students.

For students, in particular, it is challenging to find the budget for new software and applications to help muddle through the process. But students can benefit so much from using technology for research, group coordination, collaboration, project planning and more.

Plus, students who use and become comfortable with business software and applications while still in school will be more prepared when they enter the workforce. I wish I had a wiki to use to manage my projects while I was in college!

That’s why, although SamePage is an enterprise wiki, I was part of the team that put together the plan to offer SamePage version 4.0 FREE to university students with an .edu email address. All students need to do is sign up at http://samepage.spwiki.com. They can include up to five users in their group. It’s simple and straightforward. The interface is user friendly and utilizes a WYSIWYG editor, so students don’t need technical expertise. In addition to the collaboration features, there are discussion forums and a blog element.

Some things in life really are free. And when this phenomenon occurs, people should reach out and grab it. That’s exactly what we hope students will do with SamePage v. 4.0.

Content is King

Alex Jefferies, senior research associate at Aberdeen Group, explains the ‘why’ behind wikis:

“The guiding philosophy behind a wiki is really quite simple: content is king. In other words, the benefit derived from an enterprise wiki depends greatly on the amount of information contributed by users."

The most successful organizations are the ones who are able to spark a high degree of employee adoption. The result of such adoption ranges from a dynamic glossary of company-specific terminology to a forum for new employee ideas. In fact, many organizations are using wikis as a training platform, one where they can centralize FAQs and best practices for use in the onboarding process. The multitude of uses has led the majority (59%) of best-in-class companies to either leverage, or plan to leverage, internal wikis.”

The key findings of Alex’s recent Sales 2.0 report show a correlation between companies that utilize wikis as part of a sales program and improving sales. But what we also know is that a wiki is only as valuable as the content employees put in there.

Not sure what to put on your corporate wiki? According to Stewart Mader, wiki consultant and blogger, “A wiki can be especially useful for commonly needed information, like FAQ, guidelines, HR or purchasing policies.” He gives more details in a recent article.

So go forth and populate your company’s wiki!