When any organisation makes the decision to adopt web 2.0 technologies in conjunction with their current information systems; it may be a strategically motivated but no consideration has been taken into the concept of integration. This is highlighted by organisations simultaneously operating web 2.0 platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Wiki, Blogs etc. It’s about time that organisations take an integrated approach to platform adoption.
The industry knows the importance of integrating information systems hence the evolution of point to point architecture, middleware, EAI and most recently SOA. These technologies have been driven out of necessity as previous distributed and autonomous information systems created functional silos which lead to information redundancy, outdated processes, task duplication, data anomalies and enormous maintenance costs.
Obviously the list of detrimental effects continues, but the enterprise realised this and took the necessary steps to develop a centralised, integrated system, with standardised business rules and process to achieve proper integration and heighten business efficiency and agility. Commonly, this was achieved through an ERP implementation or with an EAI layer between current systems such as CRM, SCM and Finance.
I do concede that these information systems are significantly more critical, complex and robust than a web 2.0 platform. However this does not negate the issues that are attributed to siloed information systems. The only comforting factor is that the severity of each issue is lessened. But as the organisation begins to rely on these platforms more and more, the severity of each issue will compound.
So will technologies such as Web 2.0 mashups be the answer? – Potentially not. It is important to remember that IT is a business enabler, not a driver. For too long, a “bottom-up” approach was adopted where business has had to adapt to the requirements of a solution which did not provide proper functional-fit, hence business was dwarfed by the solution.
The key to success is to take a long winded and calculated “Top-Down” approach through a discipline such as Enterprise Architecture, Business Analysis, Process Management/Re-Engineering or SOA. This will enable identification of the organisations vision, mission and strategy and allow for the development of detailed requirements to produce an integrated solution to achieve that.
Will this happen with web 2.0? – I doubt it. Businesses are often after “Quick wins” and whilst implementing and using these web 2.0 platforms offers immediate results, the real issues will remain unseen until they reach critical mass. This is the nature of the industry and it won’t change until something goes wrong.
October 23rd, 2009 at 1:59 pm
I totally agree. It seems some organizations are implementing web 2.0 to see returns “now”, but they’re failing to consider the IT systems already in place.
Take QUT Library – they seemed to have just whacked widgets and blogs and social networking links all onto their website, without considering (it seems) how buried the information will become.
This post adds another perspective to my post – http://samparsons.net/blog/general.php/2009/10/23/enterprise-2-0-adoption.
Great post