Reflections on Enterprise 2.0

Unfortunately I only had opportunity to attend the first day of the Enterprise 2.0 conference . Despite this it was a valuable trip. Reflecting on the conference these things stuck out for me:

• One thing the organizers got right was plenty of power outlets in the meeting rooms.
• The wireless worked better than at the Web 2.0 Expo, but then there were far fewer people. Probably 1,000 as against 10,000 at the Expo.
• Microsoft doesn't get it, or is biased by its revenue model. How c an you talk about unified communications across multiple devices and then talk seriously about sharepoint and integrated Office Business Applications that use the Office system - that ties me to my desktop
• Institutional IT doesn't get Web 2.0 yet. This was evidenced by the discussion on Mobile platforms and the desire of IT organizations to lock down mobile devices. Developing revenue growth powerin g mobile applications will spread beyond an enterprise boundary. IT will not be able to lock down, or even prescribe all the devices that will connect to data feeds, applications and services. Developing to open standards and interfaces is essential.
• Enterprise Mashups. I was disappointed to miss this session , which is being held on Wednesday June 21st. My thoughts on this area are that we must first get the basics right. Enterprise search (that really works!) is a critical first step. Add syndication capabilities via RSS and you have a solid foundation on which the organization can build emergent processes with minimal IT investment. When you combine Enterprise search with RSS and a Wiki publishing capability you have the essential components to create new knowledge and to be able to springboard new insights from that knowledge.