Agenda Overview for Social Software and Collaboration, 2013

Transcription

1 Industry Research G Agenda Overview for Social Software and Collaboration, 2013 Published: 2 January 2013 Analyst(s): Nikos Drakos Collaboration will become mobile, cloud-based, contextual and social. IT leaders responsible for collaboration and social initiatives must increase the effectiveness of their investments, regain the trust of business stakeholders and engage individuals both inside and outside the organization. Analysis Figure 1. Social Software and Collaboration Agenda Overview Source: Gartner (January 2013)

2 A compelling vision is emerging of the future of collaboration. Collaboration will be characterized by ubiquitous mobile devices offering instant access to contextually relevant information. This will happen in secure but highly interactive and intuitive social environments that can be set up quickly but can also operate on a global scale. The promise of the converging social, mobile, cloud and information forces what Gartner terms the Nexus of Forces (see "The Nexus of Forces: Social, Mobile, Cloud and Information") is directly relevant to delivering successful collaboration and social software initiatives. IT leaders, whether responsible for collaboration and social software initiatives, or charged with workplace transformation or managing the day-to-day operations of collaboration applications, should bear in mind the new possibilities that arise from the nexus when looking at long-standing aims, such as how to: Improve the efficiency and effectiveness of communications and information sharing Boost team productivity and effectiveness within projects and business processes Support successful community building that stimulates learning and innovation, encourages peer-to-peer networking and diffuses best practices Strengthen professional networking and interpersonal relationships, fostering a participatory culture that helps to achieve business goals through the collective actions of individuals, both within and outside the organization At first, IT leaders responsible for such initiatives will experience the nexus as a disruptive force. This promising vision will put the focus on existing collaboration solutions, calling into question their suitability and even their viability. The vision of ubiquitous, cloud-based, social and contextual collaboration needs to be translated into practical terms that are relevant to business. It will also have to take as its starting point the current investments in communication, collaboration and other workplace infrastructure. This will have to be done against a backdrop of rising expectations and rising dissatisfaction with current systems and initiatives. In addition to the need for continuity and incremental change, one particular new pattern deserves special attention. Supporting collaboration is more effective when done in the context of the work that created the need to collaborate. When the collaboration environment is separate and disconnected, it requires more effort to collaborate effectively. Today's reality is that collaborative work is supported either in general-propose, rich, disconnected environments (including ) or using built-in but limited collaboration capabilities within business applications. Although there is real value in both, more can be achieved through contextual collaboration that combines the best of both worlds. This is becoming less utopian as more integration options become available, and as architectures with unifying concepts such as the "enterprise social graph" become possible. To succeed with collaboration and social software initiatives, IT leaders with such responsibilities must: Align social software and collaboration investments with business activities and related effectiveness metrics within the context of those business activities Assess new deployment opportunities (for example, mobile services and the cloud) to support business needs for agility and flexible work models Page 2 of 14 Gartner, Inc. G

3 Build skills for sustained stewardship and cultural alignment of social software and collaboration solutions that can be achieved only in partnership with business leaders Invest in research, design and user experience resources to increase adoption and the value gained by stakeholders from solutions such as mobility and social networking Collect, consider and act on the insight provided by social analytics applications Key Issues How can social software and collaboration initiatives be used to improve or transform workplace effectiveness internally and to engage successfully on a large scale with external stakeholders? How can trends such as mobility and the cloud be used to support agile, engaging, scalable and cost-effective social software and collaboration initiatives? How should organizations design and build their social software and collaboration management technology to ensure alignment with other workplace infrastructure and integration with business applications? How should enterprises evaluate vendors, service providers and technologies to ensure they select the best ones for their unique requirements? How can social software and collaboration initiatives ensure success in terms of engagement, cultural alignment, reduced risk and quantifiable results? How can social software and collaboration initiatives be used to improve or transform workplace effectiveness internally and to engage successfully on a large scale with external stakeholders? A strategic approach to collaboration starts with a clear understanding of, and alignment with, the overall organization strategy, goals, priorities and culture. The impact of an internal collaboration initiative can range from improved communications and operational effectiveness to the provision of competitive differentiation through breakthrough innovation. Externally focused social engagement initiatives could be aligned with mundane (but necessary) risk reduction, competitive intelligence or reputation-monitoring objectives. At the other end of the spectrum, they could be aligned with mass collaboration crowdsourcing initiatives where external participants contribute not only fresh ideas, but also resources to build, market, deliver and support new products or services. Taking a strategic approach to collaboration requires initiative leaders to identify, clarify and prioritize the business context in which improved collaboration support is likely to have the most impact relative to the resources needed to deliver it, within acceptable risk limits. A strategic approach makes explicit the likelihood of success along with realistic, and ideally quantifiable, expectations about the likely business impact. It also identifies business or other risks, and provides a budgeted plan for the steps necessary to achieve the objectives. Gartner, Inc. G Page 3 of 14

4 Planned Research In 2013, our research will include: An ROI and business case framework for collaboration and social software initiatives A template for a collaboration initiative strategy A collaboration cloud economics decision framework Advice on how to measure the effectiveness of collaboration investments Knowledge management fundamentals in the age of social networks Effective mobile collaboration strategy Advanced collaboration in business-to-business environments Guidance on how to obtain results from social analytics applications How can trends such as mobility and the cloud be used to support agile, engaging, scalable and cost-effective social software and collaboration initiatives? Technology and business uses of IT to support collaboration and engagement are proliferating at a faster pace than most organizations are able to absorb. Much of the change in coming years will be a result of: Social The number of technologies is growing and social networking has started to expand basic activities such as decision making, business and operational processes, product development and customer service. Mobile Popular smartphones and tablets are increasingly supporting collaboration and social networking no matter where workers are, and many social networking sites support mobile work. Cloud Many new social software and collaboration offerings are based exclusively in the cloud, while established ones are poised to move there too. This model allows for quick deployment and wider access to services, but information security remains a concern. Leaders of collaboration initiatives are looking at software as a service (SaaS) for opportunities to take advantage of economies of scale and to enhance flexibility without sacrificing reliability or introducing unacceptable risks. Whether provisioned on-premises or through SaaS, IT leaders expect reliable operation, compliance with regulations and, increasingly, the ability to deliver a service in the most efficient and cost-effective manner. Information Collaboration and social software technologies in particular have contributed to an explosion of information and new content types. At the same time, business needs drive enterprises to manage this information more effectively (to mine for analytical insights, for example). Page 4 of 14 Gartner, Inc. G

5 Planned Research Our 2013 research will include: The future of collaboration Cloud file synchronization and sharing, as well collaboration with external participants Real-time collaboration in productivity suites Hybrid on-premises and SaaS collaboration platforms A Hype Cycle on social software, a Magic Quadrant on social software in the workplace, and Predicts and Cool Vendors reports on social software and collaboration How should organizations design and build their social software and collaboration management technology to ensure alignment with other workplace infrastructure and integration with business applications? Existing capabilities will become available on mobile devices or via cloud services. In more extreme cases, new products will offer well-understood capabilities but with a "mobile first or cloud only" approach. Common technology aggregation trends will coalesce related capabilities into suites or layer collaboration and social software capabilities onto business applications. One important source of friction but also of long-term opportunity is the constantly shifting boundaries between: Platforms that deal primarily with content (for example, content management systems) Platforms that deal mainly with access to diverse information sources and applications via a consistent user experience (such as search and enterprise portals) Platforms that deal with work and process modeling (for example, business process management or case management) Conversational, collaborative or social platforms (including , unified communications and collaboration platforms) The current view is that each of these systems has a different focus and a different set of capabilities and, although some care is required in harmonizing the user experience, the responsibilities of each type of system have been clearly delineated. What is beginning to challenge this view is that the capabilities of each type of system are beginning to bleed into adjacent types, making it possible for a given platform to play multiple roles albeit not all of them equally well. IT leaders responsible for collaboration initiatives can no longer consider collaboration platforms in isolation. What used to be a relatively simple product/capability selection decision now has broader implications for infrastructure and application architecture. Planned Research Our research in 2013 will include reports on: Gartner, Inc. G Page 5 of 14

6 Options for integrating social software and collaboration with: unified communications; business applications; and content, portal, or business process management platforms. The impact of social technologies on application architectures. The workplace collaboration capabilities that should be considered essential and those that are "nice to have." How should enterprises evaluate vendors, service providers and technologies to ensure they select the best ones for their unique requirements? Collaboration and social software markets remain dynamic, with new entrants joining and with consolidation accelerating. We estimate that total software revenue for collaboration suites (teaming platforms and enterprise social software suites) was approximately $945 million worldwide in 2011, reflecting a growth rate of 21% from It is forecast to grow to $2 billion in 2016, with a fiveyear compound annual growth rate of 16.1% (see "Market Trends: Collaboration Suites Enhance Team Relationships Through Virtual Interactions"). There is still much heterogeneity, even within narrow market segments, as there is plenty of scope for technical innovation in relation to specific functions in the fields of social analytics and gamification, for example. It will become more difficult for vendors to compete on the basis of differences in functions. Social capabilities such as rich dynamic profiles, activity streams, embedded messages and self-service groups that were once available only from specialist vendors are now becoming commonplace. Although there is still room for innovation and differentiation through best-in-class implementations, in the long term differentiation will depend on a combination of: Bundling with IT infrastructure services and preintegrating social capabilities with a broad set of infrastructure services, such as directory services, content repositories, application and portal servers, and unified communications services. Bundling with business applications, such as those for CRM, talent management, software development, project management and IT operations support. Developing a horizontal social layer offering to become the repository of the enterprise social graph by recording relationships between individuals and anything that might interest them. This involves a broad integration strategy to socially enable every application or repository to draw interaction and engagement data from them, as well as to direct attention and traffic to them. Providing embedded social applications for specific activities, such as rich content creation, content reviews, project management, task management, process modeling, data collection and reporting, decision making, idea management and inbox management. In this way, social capabilities can provide a fluid and conversational supporting context combined with best-inclass built-in support for specific activities. Products with such activity-specific support are aimed directly at end users, who are often dissatisfied with the cumbersome nature of officially supported alternative tools for these activities. Page 6 of 14 Gartner, Inc. G

7 Given the differing backgrounds of the vendors, the differences in their strategies and the increased consolidation activity, we expect this market's volatility to remain high. Buyers should, therefore, remain cautious. They must know their priorities and which activities to support in order to choose appropriate vendors and products. Planned Research In 2013, our research will cover: The factors shaping the future of collaboration and social solution technology and information solution architectures The most important criteria for evaluating SaaS collaboration vendors The leading vendors for file synchronization and mobile collaboration How the SaaS suites from vendors such as Microsoft and Google compare The market-leading products for , instant messaging, Web conferencing, collaboration and enterprise social networking How can social software and collaboration initiatives ensure success in terms of engagement, cultural alignment, reduced risk and quantifiable results? Year after year in Gartner surveys, CIOs list collaboration as one of their top technology priorities it was fourth in 2012 (see "Amplifying the Enterprise: The 2012 CIO Agenda"). This shows that business leaders recognize the value of collaboration, but they feel frustrated that their organizations move so slowly toward their collaboration goals. Those responsible for collaboration and social software will struggle to satisfy the stakeholders that they serve: Senior leaders recognize the importance of collaboration but are frustrated by the lack of evidence of its business value. They are also wary of new risks. Line-of-business leaders are excited by new possibilities for collaboration within their areas (for example, communications, customer support and product development). But they are frustrated by the lack of progress and the limitations of the general-purpose collaboration platforms already deployed. Business application vendors are beginning to entice them with credible collaboration solutions embedded in their business applications that are highly tuned to the needs of specific activities. Individual workers are excited by the promise of seamless, effortless, anytime, anywhere, with anyone collaboration. Their experience is being shaped by consumer technology that is already being used often against company policy to perform work activities. They are frustrated by the lack of progress and the limitations of workplace technology. Success with collaboration initiatives requires a comprehensive approach that addresses not only business and technology requirements, but also the conditions that influence human behavior Gartner, Inc. G Page 7 of 14

8 such as shared values, peer pressure, reciprocity, reputation and trust. Success may require changes in performance metrics (to promote collaborative behavior and reduce information hoarding, for example); changes in power relationships; or active suppression of negative behaviors. Flat, open organizations in which there is already trust and willingness to work together are likely to be more conducive to a collaboration initiative that aims, for example, to virtualize and extend the scope of collaborative work. Leaders of collaboration initiatives still tend to see their responsibilities too narrowly in terms of technology deployment, ending up with low levels of acceptance and adoption. They need to acknowledge and work in partnership with their business colleagues to take appropriate steps to cultivate an atmosphere in which collaboration can thrive. Implementing collaboration tools alone will not work. Planned Research Our 2013 research will cover subjects including: How to assess how collaborative an organization is Aligning collaboration initiatives to organizational culture Tactics for boosting user acceptance and usage of collaboration and social software How collaboration initiative managers should interact with sponsors and stakeholders in roles related to, for example, organizational development, HR and workforce transformation Best practices from organizations with successful initiatives in mobile collaboration, partner collaboration and hybrid on-premises/saas deployments Related Priorities Key Initiatives address significant business opportunities and threats, and typically have defined objectives, substantial financial implications, and high organizational visibility. They are normally implemented by a designated team with clear roles and responsibilities, as well as defined performance objectives. Page 8 of 14 Gartner, Inc. G

9 Table 1. Related Priorities for Social Software and Collaboration Key Initiative Business Gets Social Content, Collaboration and Social Initiatives SharePoint Unified Communications and Collaboration Portal and Web Strategies Cloud Computing Focus Socially driven processes are disrupting traditional approaches to business. Social techniques and tools allow people to connect and interact with unprecedented speed and ease as business gets social. Content, collaboration and social capabilities enable people to find and manage the right content and to work together effectively. Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 is a server offering that provides content management, team collaboration and social software, portals, business intelligence and search capabilities. Unified communications and collaboration integrates multiple siloed communication channels, enables workgroup communication and extends capabilities beyond company boundaries. A portal is Web software infrastructure that provides access to, and interaction with, information, knowledge and human assets by select targeted audiences, in a highly personalized manner. Cloud computing is a style of computing where scalable and elastic IT-related capabilities are provided as a service to customers, using Internet technologies. Source: Gartner (January 2013) Suggested Next Steps Visit gartner.com and look at the research reports under the Key Initiatives that are most relevant to you (for example, Business Gets Social, or Content, Collaboration and Social Initiatives). Start by reviewing some of the general or overview reports such as Maturity Models, Strategic Road Maps or Roundups that provide more comprehensive coverage of a particular topic. Set up alerts to keep up to date with our latest research so that you are always notified when new research on topics of particular interest is published. Don't forget to rate any documents that you read not just to give us feedback but also to help your peers find what they need more easily. If you wish to discuss any of the issues raised in the reports or any other matters that you are working on, schedule an inquiry with one of the analysts in our team. Practice collaboration and social interaction by joining the conversations on Gartner Peer Connect. In December 2012, there were approximately 100 discussions relating to collaboration, and about 70 relating to social business topics. Gartner, Inc. G Page 9 of 14

10 Consider attending one of Gartner's Portals, Content, and Collaboration Summits (late April 2013 in San Diego, and September 2013 in London) during which you can meet with key analysts and network with your peers. Related Agendas Enterprise Content Management Recommended Reading Some documents may not be available as part of your current Gartner subscription. How can social software and collaboration initiatives be used to improve or transform workplace effectiveness internally and to engage successfully on a large scale with external stakeholders? "2012 Strategic Road Map for Business Gets Social" "Use Gartner's Social Business Program Maturity Model to Plan Your Next Move" "Business Gets Social Examples Highlight Adoption Trends and Key Performance Indicators" "Social and the Nexus of Forces: Supporting People's Interactions" "Designing New Office Workspaces for the Year 2020" How can trends such as mobility and the cloud be used to support agile, engaging, scalable and cost-effective social software and collaboration initiatives? "Enabling the Opt-in, Socially Networked Workforce" "Maverick* Research: Socially Centered Leadership" "Cool Vendors in Social Software and Collaboration, 2012" "Turn Information Into Insight With Social Analytics" "Research Roundup for Content and Social Analytics" "Hype Cycle for Social Software, 2012" "Hype Cycle for Business Use of Social Technologies, 2012" "Social Projects Require Project Managers to Think Differently" "Predicts 2013: Social and Collaboration Go Deeper and Wider" "Roundup of Research, 4Q11-3Q12" Page 10 of 14 Gartner, Inc. G

11 How should organizations design and build their social software and collaboration management technology to ensure alignment with other workplace infrastructure and integration with business applications? "Embed Social and Collaboration Functions in Processes to Boost Business Outcomes" "Sources for Social and Collaboration Functions to Embed in Business Processes" "A Framework for Evaluating Collaboration Features in Office Productivity Tools" "Microsoft's Changing Social Software Strategy: Yammer, SharePoint and the Role of Cloud Services Within Office" "Toolkit: How to Develop an Effective Unified Communications and Collaboration Road Map" "Toolkit: Cloud Readiness Assessment" "The Gartner Position on Cloud " How should enterprises evaluate vendors, service providers and technologies to ensure they select the best ones for their unique requirements? "Google Upsetting Microsoft's Cloud-Office System Ambitions" "Yammer to Give Microsoft Needed Dynamism in Enterprise Social Networking" "Google Apps Versus Office 365; A 'Cosmo-Style' Quiz" "Google Apps in the Enterprise, a Status Check" "IBM Lotus Notes/Domino for ; Gartner's Updated Position" "Magic Quadrant for Social Software in the Workplace" "Critical Capabilities for Enterprise Instant Messaging and Presence" "MarketScope for Systems" "MarketScope for Enterprise Instant Messaging and Presence" "Exchange 2013: A Bridge to the Microsoft Cloud" "Microsoft Lync 2013: Don't Base Upgrades on New Features Alone" "IBM's Social Business Strategy in Its Second Year" "Understanding the Microsoft Exchange Hosting Landscape" "Look at Providers' Viability When You Choose Social Monitoring Software" Gartner, Inc. G Page 11 of 14

12 "Use Cases Should Determine Product Selection in Web Conferencing" "MarketScope for Video Content Management and Delivery" "Changes to the Social Software Magic Quadrants" How can social software and collaboration initiatives ensure success in terms of engagement, cultural alignment, reduced risk and quantifiable results? "Transform the Workplace With Focus on Bricks, Behaviors and Bits" "Seven Steps to Enhance Enterprise Performance With a People-Centered Strategy" "Crisis Drives Better Customer Care Through Social Media" "Handling Social Media Issues Appropriately Requires Preplanning" "Policy Is Not Enough to Inform Employees About Social Media Engagement" "Categorize Employees When Creating Enterprise Social Media Policy" "Select the Governance Model That Suits Your Social Media Program" "Best Practices in Collaboration: Social Networking Helps to Handle Exceptions in Ocean Carrier Supply Chain" "How One Organization Moved 72,000 Accounts to Gmail While Keeping the Motor Running" "Life on the High Wire: How to Move 12,500 Global Users From Notes to Office 365 With Minimal User Disruption" "Knowledge Management Projects With Focused Objectives Deliver Most Value" "Best Practices for Capturing Knowledge From Retiring Employees" "Socialization of Knowledge Management Drives Greater Reuse" "Creating a Safe and Sane Retention Program" "Maverick* Research: Socially Centered Leadership" "Best Practices in Collaboration: How Suntech Gets Things Done With 'Bring-Your-Own' Project Coordination Software" Agenda Manager Profile Page 12 of 14 Gartner, Inc. G

13 Nikos Drakos is a Research Director at Gartner and agenda manager for social software and collaboration. Mr. Drakos helps clients to design social and collaboration initiatives that empower individuals to: connect, collaborate and work together more effectively; develop business social networking road maps; and select social technologies that best fit their needs. Before joining Gartner, Mr. Drakos was a founding member of a pioneering Web development company responsible for high-profile European interactive and transactional online services. Previously, as a postdoctoral research fellow, he worked on visual programming languages, artificial intelligence and Web technology, where he led the development of one of the first open-source Web publishing systems. Gartner, Inc. G Page 13 of 14

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