Vendor Landscape: Collaborative Work Management For The Enterprise

Transcription

1 Vendor Landscape: Collaborative Work Management For The Enterprise by Margo Visitacion Why Read This Report When the customer is the central focus of a company s strategy, its employees must work together more efficiently. Every day, employees focus their activities on helping their companies win, serve, and retain customers, even if the employees aren t engaging face-to-face. Crossfunctional and cross-organizational initiatives are becoming the norm, and sharing information is essential; unfortunately, employees require a multitude of applications to do this. Firms are demanding more-seamless user experience for the technologies that employees use, and as a result, a new market that brings together task management and collaboration has emerged. Collaborative work management (CWM) tools enable employees to address both needs in the same application. This report describes this emerging market and highlights how these solutions can help project managers and enterprise architecture (EA) leaders enable teams to work together effectively. Key Takeaways Today s Employees Need A Better Way To Work To interact with customers, coworkers, and partners, today s information worker must use almost a dozen tools to access data distributed across the enterprise. Communications leveraging that data routinely occur outside of the context of the tools used to deliver products and services. Collaborative Work Management Tools Support The Way People Work Shifting demographics, cross-organizational initiatives, and Agile approaches are changing the way information workers do their jobs. Information and communication must be instantly available and contextually rich. Collaborative work management solutions make these information workers more effective. Application Addiction Drives Grass-Roots Adoption CWM solutions tend to enter the organization and grow virally. Teams adopt the tools because, unlike formal project management tools, they allow users to tailor the work experience and reduce the number of times they have to jump to another application to complete a task. forrester.com

2 Vendor Landscape: Collaborative Work Management For The Enterprise by Margo Visitacion with Alex Cullen, Leslie Owens, Alex Kramer, and Diane Lynch Table Of Contents Notes & Resources 2 5 Customer-Obsessed Firms Need Teams To Work Together Successfully Today s Collaboration Challenge: Too Many Apps And Too Difficult To Share Information Current Tools For Work Miss The Mark Collaborative Work Management Combines The Best Of Both Worlds The Collaborative Work Management Market Has Two Segment Types Forrester interviewed AffinityLive, Asana, Atlassian, Central Desktop, Clarizen, Entry Software, exo Platform, FoxPlan, Genius Project, Glip, Huddle, Knowify, LiquidPlanner, Mavenlink, Planbox, Planview, Podio, Rally Software Development (now part of CA Technologies) Redbooth, SmartSheet, Trello, Upland Software, Workbook Software, and Wrike. We also used data from Forrester s Business Technographics Global Applications And Collaboration Workforce Survey, 2014 in researching this report. What It Means Collaborative Work Management Fills The Bill For Today s Info Workers Supplemental Material Related Research Documents Brief: Analytics Separates Signal From Noise On Enterprise Social How to Build A Technology Plan That Sustains Employee Engagement Say Goodbye To UC; It s Time For Customer- Activated Communication And Collaboration Forrester Research, Inc., 60 Acorn Park Drive, Cambridge, MA USA Fax: forrester.com 2015 Forrester Research, Inc. Opinions reflect judgment at the time and are subject to change. Forrester, Technographics, Forrester Wave, RoleView, TechRadar, and Total Economic Impact are trademarks of Forrester Research, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies. Unauthorized copying or distributing is a violation of copyright law.

3 Customer-Obsessed Firms Need Teams To Work Together Successfully Yesterday s information workers relied on jumping from application to application to access the data they needed to perform their jobs and on to communicate their progress to coworkers or customers. Today, delivering outstanding customer value requires interactions that are more complex. EA professionals and information workers of all types routinely work with globally distributed teams, partner ecosystems, and customers themselves to create products and services (see Figure 1). They work at offices, at client sites, from home, and while traveling, requiring access to a number of different data sources or applications to perform effectively. While firms continue to believe in collaboration, the technology available to them lags in pragmatic application. Collaboration is central to customer obsession. Workers collaborate frequently on product and service information with coworkers. Employees work networks continue to expand. As part of their day-to-day jobs, 27% of employees collaborate with six to 10 other employees, the size of an average team, while 19% collaborate with 26 or more coworkers. They interact frequently with customers to help them in product selection and service. Customer collaboration is growing across the board. When we asked about the number of customers that information workers collaborate with as part of their day-to-day jobs, a large proportion, 27%, replied that they collaborate with 26 or more customers. They routinely multitask to support project and ad hoc work simultaneously. As organizations transition to continuous delivery, information workers perform activities that companies may not recognize as formal projects. These activities are simply the work that information workers perform on a routine basis, but these activities are critical in serving their customer base. They increasingly access information while on the go. People are working more frequently away from their desks because they are telecommuting or traveling. More than half of the respondents replied that they routinely use smartphones or tablets to perform activities related to their job. 1 2

4 FIGURE 1 Collaboration Is Commonplace For Both Internal And Customer-Facing Activities In a typical week, how many people do you regularly communicate or collaborate with as part of your day-to-day job? None/does not apply 1 to 5 people 6 to 10 people 3% 11 to 25 people 26 or more people Coworkers 28% 27% 23% 19% Customers 17% 21% 18% 17% 27% Base: 7,000 global information workers Source: Forrester s Business Technographics Global Applications And Collaboration Workforce Survey, 2014 Today s Collaboration Challenge: Too Many Apps And Too Difficult To Share Information While organizations are striving to increase agility, today s solutions put up hurdles. Accessing the data required to develop digital deliverables that result in products and services requires effort that reduces productivity because: Workers must employ a wide range of applications to complete their jobs. To access their primary data, 43% of respondents to our survey use word processing and 44% use spreadsheets, while only 30% use an application specific to their job. The data they require is rarely centralized. Accessing the right data requires searching multiple locations. Only 43% of information workers access their primary data in a centralized database. Almost 30% must search multiple disparate databases, requiring greater effort to quickly access information to complete tasks. They want to communicate work-related information within the context of the activity. Unfortunately, once they perform a task, 75% of the respondents must move outside of the applications they re working in to relay the analysis via voice, , or chat, breaking the audit trail of information and clogging inboxes. 3

5 Current Tools For Work Miss The Mark Projects are a company s lifeblood. People work in projects and on ad hoc tasks during their workdays. They require solutions structured around workflows that enable them to perform their activities. Teams need solutions that allow them to work together and see the progress they re making toward a result. Historically, this has required multiple tools that necessitated switching between applications, often losing context in the process. 2 Communication and collaboration professionals have worked for years on implementing portals, intranets, social media, and enterprise search, with the goal of delivering an integrated workplace that houses all activity in one place. Unfortunately, collaboration suites don t provide the usability that employees need to get their work done. While firms continue to invest in collaboration tools and project management tools, having both doesn t solve the problem, as they remain two distinct applications: Traditional project management tools serve a small audience. Project management tools that place a strong emphasis on formal planning and scheduling offer an experience too rigid for the average team member or casual project manager. Specific project-related data applies to a small audience; only 8% of information workers use project and task management tools to access data, and 51% of information workers never use project and task management tools on a computer at all (see Figure 2). 3 Collaboration tools lack time management workflow to drive outcome delivery. Centralized access to collaborative content without task direction or purpose provides limited value. 4 For example, only 25% of customer experience professionals feel they have sufficient insight into the criteria needed for prioritizing work and allocating resources that explicitly include the impact a project will have on customers. 5 Without having the requisite information to sense urgency that drive team priorities, collaboration tools become a repository that stores information but provides limited context around objectives, deadlines, or direction for task completion. 4

6 FIGURE 2 Project Management Tools Serve Only A Small Percentage Of Information Workers What tools do you use to access your primary data? Spreadsheets Word processing An application that is specific to my role or my department Web browser 30% 29% 44% 43% Presentation tools File sync-and-sharing tools Team document-sharing sites Customer relationship management Online storage tools Data dashboard 21% 17% 15% 14% 14% 12% Project and task management tools 8% Base: 5,901 global information workers with access to data at work (multiple reponses accepted) Source: Forrester s Business Technographics Global Applications And Collaboration Workforce Survey, 2014 Collaborative Work Management Combines The Best Of Both Worlds Organizations are waking up to the realization that their employees want engaging, easy-to-use solutions that let them keep track of what they re working on, collaborate with team members, and provide transparency to leadership about their performance all without too much administrative rigor. Forrester calls this new category collaborative work management for the enterprise. These solutions enable the coordination of activities arising from (see Figure 3): A conversation that triggers the need for action. Whether generated from , chat, a call center ticket, or a logged defect, these conversations form the foundation of a team space containing all collaboration, feedback, tasks, and commitment dates. Creators can invite internal employees or external users, e.g., clients or contractors, to view and participate in the conversation thread as it evolves. The thread becomes the system of record for teams managing their work and content collaboration. Communication originates from within the system and is captured so critical contextual information isn t lost in disconnected s. 5

7 Planned work that requires a great deal of collaboration. This work can be part of either a project or daily planned activities. Users can create a task list or a formal project plan and invite internal stakeholders, contractors, or clients to participate on allocated tasks and add, review, or edit content. Project and department managers can track what their resources are working on and review conversations to track progress with complete transparency into the work items. Team members can add ad hoc tasks outside of the project to organize their workdays. FIGURE 3 Information Work Takes Two Paths, United By The Factor Of Time Conversation that triggers work T I M E Work that requires input/conversation The Collaborative Work Management Market Has Two Segment Types Forrester interviewed 37 collaborative work management vendors to help departmental, project, and portfolio managers and EA professionals select an appropriate tool for managing both planned and ad hoc task management processes. In this report, we have chosen to highlight their capabilities in planning work, inviting both employees and clients to collaborate on digital deliverables. We found that the market has two segments, and we ve categorized each segment by its core offering. However, the functionality of these offerings continues to evolve to expand into adjacent segments (see Figure 4 and see Figure 5). The segments are: Segment 1 collaborative task-driven planning and tracking tools. These vendors serve information workers who require a combination of light process management and the ability to track work items and collaborate on content, leveraging integrations with Box, Dropbox, and Google Drive. The solutions generally provide simplified financial, time, and expense capabilities that are available regardless of the user s choice of device. Vendors such as Clarizen, Knowify, LiquidPlanner, Planview, Smartsheet, and Wrike provide these capabilities to both technical and nontechnical teams. Vendors that specifically target software development include Atlassian s Jira, Confluence and Hipchat, LeanKit, Rally Software Development (now part of CA Technologies), SpiraPlan, and VersionOne. 6

8 Segment 2 social collaboration tools that support light task management. The vendors in this segment are, at their core, social collaboration tools; however, as teams began to adopt them in greater numbers to improve either communication and content sharing as part of their day-today jobs, vendors such as Box, Central Desktop, Huddle, Microsoft, Podio, and Rabbitsoft are enhancing their collaboration tools by adding project management capabilities. FIGURE 4 Collaboration-Driven Work Management Tools Collaboration-driven Vendor Tool Profile Asana Asana Asana s project management solution seeks to create team communication without relying on . It places conversations and tasks in the same location to ensure that everything is actionable. Asana also provides dashboard views to give project managers a high-level view of ongoing work. Atlassian Hipchat/ Confluence Atlassian s software-as-a-service (SaaS) product is a private chat service for businesses and allows groups to share files, video chat, and IM. HipChat synchronizes across desktop, mobile, and web apps. It also integrates with 80 other tools. Confluence is a social and team content platform used to create, share, and discuss content online. Box Box Box s SaaS solution has project management capabilities that allow users to keep files in a common space to manage version control. Its flexible workflow tools give users the ability to share and discuss content within their workflows. Box project files are accessible on tablets, phones, and computers. Central Desktop Central Desktop Central Desktop s SaaS offering is targeted towards teams that need to work across offices and with customers. The software makes files, calendars, conversations, and project plans available in a centralized environment for all participants. The highly collaborative product provides users with the ability to connect on projects simultaneously without relying on . exo Platform exo Platform exo Platform s user experience PaaS offering is based around its social platform. Users can create collaboration spaces for teams and projects where they can share documents and tasks. Glip Glip Glip s collaboration-based work management solution seeks to mitigate the inefficiencies of . The service has built-in video chat capabilities and integrates with popular instant messaging and file-sharing applications. Glip creates a conversation stream to allow users to communicate directly on their projects. Huddle Huddle Huddle s SaaS offering combines file-sharing and project management tools with robust collaboration capabilities. Users can adjust file privileges to share documents with internal and external users while communicating directly on the file. Huddle creates a real-time activity stream for each user and provides a task list that is automatically updated with upcoming deadlines. Microsoft SharePoint + Yammer Microsoft s SharePoint (on-premises or SaaS) can be extended to include Yammer for enterprise social communication. SharePoint integrates with Microsoft Office to allow users to have a common area to store and access key information. Extending to include Yammer allows users to create a conversation stream around each ongoing project or file. 7

9 FIGURE 4 Collaboration-Driven Work Management Tools (Cont.) Vendor Tool Profile Rabbitsoft Clinked Collaboration-driven Rabbitsoft s SaaS product allows teams to collaborate around documents and files. It offers group chats, visible to all team members, which are saved within the group. It also offers a calendar feature for sharing group events that synchronizes with Google calendar and MS Outlook. Rally Software Flowdock Rally Software s SaaS collaboration tool creates a central place for teams to communicate with a chat and inbox flow. Each flow provides an activity stream for each team that displays internal and external conversations, giving users the context of each discussion. It can also integrate with and Twitter. Redbooth Redbooth Redbooth is available in SaaS for small to medium-sized businesses and on-premises for large enterprises. The platform allows employees to communicate about projects on their desktops, mobiles, and tablets. It also has project management capabilities to allow mangers to review progress and track individual contributions. Trello Version One Trello Version One Trello provides a highly visual solution that allows teams to create boards filled with tasks, attachments, and conversations. Users create cards that contain information about each project and allow each member to add attachments, complete tasks, and discuss the project in real time. VersionOne is an Agile project management tool that is available in an on-premises or SaaS offering. It is designed to help Agile software developers manage their projects through product planning and portfolio tracking within a flexible product roadmapping environment. VersionOne also features collaboration capabilities that mimic consumer social media tools, which allow users to discuss product statuses and share information. 8

10 FIGURE 5 Task-Driven Work Management Tools Vendor Tool Profile 37 Signals AffinityLive Basecamp AffinityLive Task-driven Basecamp is a SaaS offering based around to-do lists, milestones, and document management. Basecamp integrates with the company s Campfire product, which serves as a business-oriented chat communication. AffinityLive s SaaS project management solution provides users with interactive Gantt Charts, task assignment, and invoicing capabilities. It automatically calculates rates and creates invoices based on how much time users spend on projects. Users can also upgrade to AffinityLive s CRM, Retainers, and Service products. Atlassian Clarizen Entry Software FoxPlan Jira Clarizen TeamHeadquarters FoxPlan Atlassian s Jira is available in SaaS and on-premises. It provides a dashboard for software developers to connect on tasks, documents, and workflows. Integration with Hipchat provides users with real-time communication, while Jira Portfolio allows project managers to track work from a portfolio level. Clarizen's collaborative work management solution brings together cross-company project management, configurable workflow automation and purposeful collaboration in an enterprise-grade platform. It provides a robust approach for work management, with modules for planning, task and resource management. TeamHeadquarters is a project-based solution designed to allow users to communicate about the status of their projects. Managers have a project dashboard that provides feedback on the status of each project and allows them to automate updates to keep their team members on track. FoxPlan s offering allows unlimited users to work in a single workspace. Communication and projects are centrally located, allowing managers to maintain actions, risks, and files along with project milestones. It also allows users to create sealed environments to let users interact with clients through the software. Genius Project Inflectra Genius Project SpiraPlan Genius Project s offering is available as on-premises or SaaS. The solution allows users to share documents and track projects and budgets. It also integrates with Genius Live, Genius Project s social collaboration platform. Inflectra s SpiraPlan comes in an on-premises and SaaS offering. The project-based solution provides users with a dashboard that displays the status for each ongoing project. Users can upload documents to connect them with tasks and requirements inside of a project. SpiraPlan also comes with built-in instant messaging capabilities that allow users to communicate with each other and comment on pieces of a project. 9

11 FIGURE 5 Task-Driven Work Management Tools (Cont.) Task-driven Vendor Tool Profile InLoox InLoox InLoox s project management solution comes in an on-premises and SaaS offering. Its dashboard creates a timeline for each project, updating users on the actions of others. InLoox also provides robust resource, budget, and document management tools. Jixee Jixee Jixee is a SaaS offering designed to help software developers manage their projects. It combines the look of popular consumer apps with traditional apps to simplify the user s view of the development cycle. Jixee integrates with common communication Stools like Github and Slack to encourage team collaboration. Knowify LeanKit Liquid Planner Logic Software Mavenlink Orbisoft Knowify LeanKit Liquid Planner Easy Projects Mavenlink Task Manager Knowify is cloud-based software designed for small to medium-sized businesses. The product combines administrative tools with project management to give users real- time updates on their performance. It also integrates with QuickBooks, automatically syncing transaction data with it. LeanKit s SaaS offering is a visual project management tool designed to keep teams on track. LeanKit provides users with a Kanban view of their project flow to visualize horizontal and vertical workflow processes. It also has reporting and analytics capabilities to help project managers measure the effectiveness of their processes. LiquidPlanner s SaaS offering provides users with project-based scheduling while maintaining visibility from the portfolio level. It funnels work into a shared team inbox, creating checklists for team members to fill in as they complete tasks and through conversations that are connected to each task. Logic Software s project management solution Easy Projects is available in an onpremises and SaaS offering. It has capabilities for tracking project profitability, scheduling, and available resources. Easy Projects allows project managers to set prioritized task lists for each employee and sends notifications for upcoming deadlines. Mavenlink is a SaaS product designed for small to medium-sized companies. Mavenlink s communication, tasks, and file-sharing features are all based around centralized projects. The solution also has a robust financial management feature, automatically linking expenses and invoices to tasks and projects. Orbisoft s Task Manager software is designed for teams to track tasks, jobs, and projects. The software has built-in reporting features to update users on upcoming deadlines. It also integrates with Microsoft Outlook. 10

12 FIGURE 5 Task-Driven Work Management Tools (Cont.) Vendor Tool Profile Planbox Planbox Task-driven Planbox is a SaaS project management solution that balances projects and collaboration. It gives project managers the ability to create deadlines and prioritize through a custom setup. Planbox gives team members the ability to collaborate in real time, track their time, and manage to-do lists. Planview Project Place Planview s ProjectPlace is a SaaS offering designed for team project execution. It allows teams to collaborate on projects by communicating directly on documents, tasks, and activities. ProjectPlace also integrates with Planview s enterprise portfolio management solution to give users a wider portfolio view. Podio Podio Podio s project management offering provides file-sharing and task management and integrates with popular office tools. The tool allows users to gather everything related to a project on a single page to attach files, view progress, and collaborate in real time. ProofHub ProofHub ProTasker ProTasker Strongstep Scraim ProofHub s SaaS work management tool is based around projects while giving team members built-in collaboration capabilities. Project managers can control visibility settings for each team member, and users can discuss projects through live chat, discussion boards, and notes. ProofHub also delivers robust tracking capabilities, allowing users to track project statuses through milestones, Gantt Charts, and time sheets. ProTasker s SaaS project management solution is designed for small to-mediumsized businesses. Users can create a list of tasks within each project to manage tasks by employee. ProTasker also provides users with a centralized client management location to make client information accessible to the whole team. Strongstep s Scraim is a SaaS solution targeted at software development teams. It offers ready-made development processes to keep development teams on track. Scraim combines tracking capabilities for issues, team allocation, and resource allotment with collaboration tools. It also gives project managers a project dashboard view and budget-planning capabilities. Teamwork PM Teamwork PM Teamworkprojects is a SaaS solution centered around project management. It provides a dashboard overview of all ongoing projects and more granular features within each project. Teamworkprojects also integrates with teamworkchat to provide more collaborative capabilities. 11

13 FIGURE 5 Task-Driven Work Management Tools (Cont.) Task-driven Vendor Tool Profile Upland Software EPM Live Upland Software s EPM Live is a cloud-based platform that combines project management and collaboration tools. The solution provides users with robust resource management capabilities and communication tools that mirror consumer social media functionality. EPM Live also has a Kanban Planner that allows project managers to visualize their progress through a workflow. WorkBook Software WorkBook WorkBook is a SaaS offering that provides traditional project management capabilities, including tasks, time tracking, and resource management tools. It also integrates with s to manage client interactions. WorkBook users can use the integrated features like CRM, finance, and accounting, or WorkBook can integrate with existing tools in the company. Workfront Wrike Zoho Workfront Wrike Zoho Projects Workfront is a cloud-based work management solution designed for tech management, marketing, and services professionals. The solution provides users with project and portfolio management in one place while allowing project managers to budget resources and workloads among their teams. Individuals receive a single work queue to help them balance and prioritize their time. Wrike is a SaaS solution designed for collaborative and creative professionals. Users can break projects into tasks and subtasks to track overall progress and individual contributions. Wrike provides visibility into ongoing projects and employee progress. Users can connect their with Wrike and create tasks directly from messages. Wrike also integrates with a wide range of popular applications. Zoho Projects is a project management solution that is available in a SaaS offering It allows users to build custom workflows, track bugs, and manage documents. Zoho Projects also has collaboration features to allow users to work with outside vendors and consultants. 12

14 What It Means Collaborative Work Management Fills The Bill For Today s Info Workers The merging of work management and collaboration will continue to evolve as organizations and EA professionals continue to seek better ways to win, serve, and retain their customers. We expect to see new vendors entering the market and existing vendors in both the project management and collaboration markets enhancing their current offerings. Companies thinking about investment should consider that: CWM targets personas over vertical functionality. Regardless of industry, today s economy is increasingly software-driven. Cross-organizational initiatives that require sharing digital deliverables with coworkers and customers are quickly becoming the standard. CWM solutions enable people to work together effectively and share information within the context of the activity without having to switch applications. The real power will come when enterprises adopt and adapt. While many of these tools have seen exponential growth in their user bases, conversation-driven tool implementations still tend to be small in scale and targeted at teams. Task-driven solution implementations are larger; however, team or department implementations still outpace enterprise implementations. As companies continue to scale digital initiatives that rely on distributed teams that need to share information in real time, CWM vendors can fill the gap between the formal planning that project managers require and the activities their teams perform. Tools should be regarded as part of a larger planning- or process-driven ecosystem. Great user experience has made these tools addictive for many information workers, and as a result, a number of the tools that started out firmly in one market or the other are enhancing their capabilities to attract more enterprise clients. Using these solutions as part of a larger planning ecosystem can improve resource and performance management because, with higher adoption, companies can gather more-relevant data to provide realistic and valuable information. Select a vendor with a road map that supports a strong strategy for integration into requisite enterprise tools. These tools won t replace formal planning in project portfolio management tools in the short term, but as they continue to evolve, they will contend. 13

15 Engage With An Analyst Gain greater confidence in your decisions by working with Forrester thought leaders to apply our research to your specific business and technology initiatives. Analyst Inquiry Ask a question related to our research; a Forrester analyst will help you put it into practice and take the next step. Schedule a 30-minute phone session with the analyst or opt for a response via . Learn more about inquiry, including tips for getting the most out of your discussion. Analyst Advisory Put research into practice with in-depth analysis of your specific business and technology challenges. Engagements include custom advisory calls, strategy days, workshops, speeches, and webinars. Learn about interactive advisory sessions and how we can support your initiatives. Supplemental Material Survey Methodology Forrester s Business Technographics Global Applications And Collaboration Workforce Survey, 2014 was fielded in September through October 2014 of 7,000 information workers makers located in Australia/New Zealand, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, United Kingdom and the United States from companies with two or more employees. Forrester s Business Technographics provides demand-side insight into the priorities, investments, and customer journeys of business and technology decision-makers and the workforce across the globe. Forrester collects data insights from qualified respondents in 10 countries spanning the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Business Technographics uses only superior data sources and advanced datacleaning techniques to ensure the highest data quality. 14

16 Companies Interviewed For This Report AffinityLive Asana Atlassian Central Desktop Clarizen Entry Software exo Platform FoxPlan Genius Project Glip Huddle Knowify Mavenlink Planview Planbox Podio Rally Software Development (now part of CA Technologies) Redbooth SmartSheet Trello Upland Software Workbook Software Wrike LiquidPlanner Endnotes 1 Source: Forrester s Business Technographics Global Applications And Collaboration Workforce Survey, Forrester s workforce data shows that nearly two-thirds of employees who are partner-focused and two-thirds of those who are holistically oriented each use 12 or more applications. Fifty-three percent of colleague-focused and 48% of client-focused ecosystem engineers use similar levels of apps. See the How To Build A Technology Plan That Sustains Employee Engagement Forrester report. 3 Source: Forrester s Business Technographics Global Applications And Collaboration Workforce Survey, The benefits of enterprise social software are becoming clearer, highlighting new challenges and opportunities. Designed to help workers create and access content and expertise more effectively across organizational and geographic boundaries, successfully adopted enterprise social solutions can become their own worst enemies if the generation of social content overwhelms the solution s capacity for filtering and organizing it, thus diminishing the probability that users access the right information at the right time. See the Brief: Analytics Separates Signal From Noise On Enterprise Social Forrester report. 5 Winning, serving, and retaining customers is the rallying cry defining customer-activated communication and collaboration (CACC). Unified communications is mature, and the time is ripe for a new wave of innovative technology. See the Say Goodbye To UC; It s Time For Customer-Activated Communication And Collaboration Forrester report. 15

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