TakingAIIM

aiimALERT: Open Source Players Join to Close Functional Gap

Yesterday Intalio, Inc. an Open Source BPMS company, announced a partnership with Alfresco Software, an Open Source  Enterprise Content Management (ECM) company. The integrated offering allows users to manage  document-centric workflow processes and support the collaborative development of business processes. (See details.)

Despite its age the ECM market is ripe with new beginnings.  As readers of the blog know, I am wrapping up the Market IQ on Enterprise 2.0 (register for 3/27 webinar).  Major themes of this topic include collaboration, low-barrier application development and open business models.  Part of the report looks at the intersection of Enterprise 2.0 and ECM.   Although with a slightly different perspective, this announcement by Inatlio and Alfresco does the same thing.

Alfreso provides an Open Source approach to ECM.  With the integration of Intalio, an Open Source workflow offering the ECM platform is far more complete.   But, even more fascinating to me is the fact that the integration effort was undertaken by  the Demand Driven Development (D3) model introduced by Intalio in 2006, an Enterprise 2.0 approach to development in and of itself.

There is great synergy in this simple announcement on many plateaus.  Open Source and SaaS represent new models to implementing ECM in an enterprise.  Enterprise 2.0 offers new ways to support and facilitate collaboration in an enterprise, as part of an ECM strategy.  And here the twain doth meet.  These are all industry trends that AIIM must, and will continue to monitor. 

The ECM market is anything but dull.

Enterprise 2.0 - Thanks for Noticing

Readers of this blog know that this week we spent a fair amount of time at the AIIM show.  You also realize that AIIM Market Intelligence has been spending much effort lately on the subject of Enterprise 2.0 (blogging, a recent webinar, training program, market survey, upcoming Market IQ, and associated Market IQ webinar.) At the show I delivered a one hour presentation on the intersection of Enterprise 2.0 and ECM (download slides used).  Dan Keldsen and I also rolled out the just completed Enterprise 2.0 practitioner training. 

Things went real well.  But don't take my word for it.  An attendee, Ron Miller, recently posted a commentary on the AIIM show.  To paraphrase Ron, ECM is relevant (again), and one reason is the focus on Enterprise 2.0 this year.  I agree Ron.  Thanks for noticing. 

As I stated in my inaugural post, I joined AIIM in order to broaden the direction of ECM, quote: "Please join me in TakingAIIM, in placing different technologies, applications, solution providers and industry trends into the cross hairs of TakingAIIM."

It is most rewarding to see that individuals, such as Ron also share this exciting new horizon for ECM.  To that end I must thank organizations such as SpringCM, Socialtext and EMC who have underwritten our market research on Enterprise 2.0.  They too share our excitement and vision for Enterprise 2.0.  Because of their generosity we can make this research available to the market at no cost.

The upcoming report, available for download on the AIIM site on March 24th, promises to be a groundbreaking educational resource to the market.  It contains the results of months of research, including the results of an 80+ question survey, completed by 414 users and evaluators of Enterprise 2.0.  I encourage those who are excited by the recent coverage of ECM and Enterprise 2.0 to be sure and join us for the March 27th webinar in which we discuss the survey findings.

But this is just the beginning.  Is ECM still relevant?  Well as long as there are enterprises and they have content, ECM is relevant, and AIIM Market Intelligence will chronicle the latest points of relevancy.  Over the course of the next year, in addition to the Market IQ on Enterprise 2.0, we will be developing other Market IQs on topics such as ECM and managing business processes, the criticality of findability, the state of the art in content creation and content distribution and ECM and innovation management.

If there are other compelling business areas that you think are impacted by ECM, let me know, by commenting here.

Enterprise 2.0 - By George I Think They've Got it

Last Wednesday I had the opportunity to address the topic of Enterprise 2.0.   I was the featured speaker at an AIIM Webinar, entitled "Be First to Market With Effective Collaboration. “ (For those of you who are thinking, “collaboration – I thought you said it was on Enterprise 2.0?”, – come to our training – or listen to the webinar).

The slides from the presentation are posted to slideshare and available here.

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As is often the case, the webinar experience not only gave me a chance to share my opinions and insights, but to learn as well. 

First, I was pleased to see that nearly 900 people registered for this webinar. Collaboration (and by association Enterprise 2.0), is highly relevant to business professionals (or at least AIIM members.) Its always nice to know that our work over the last few months has not been in vain.

But the real pleasure came when the Q&A portion of the webinar began. The level and diversity of questions posed were wonderful.  There were actually more questions posed than we had time to answer during the session.  Therefore, as I have done in similar situations in the past, over the next few weeks, I will be posting to this blog, questions from the webinar that were left in the queue, along with my response.  So, if you are interested in the topic, keep an eye out.

But, back to the focus of this post, what I learned during the webinar.  Among the many questions posed, a significant number were focused not on the technology side of Enterprise 2.0, but the cultural and business model perspectives.  Initially I was a bit concerned that the enthusiasm expressed by myself and my co-presenter, Jeremy Milo, might leave too many  listeners to believe that Enterprise 2.0 is a foregone conclusion, another case of “Field of Dreams.”   I am pleased to say that this was not the case.  Many questions challenged the ease and speed with which the benefits of Enterprise 2.0 can be realized, not technically, but procedurally and culturally.

To this I say BRAVO – I think you've got it.

Attendees were obviously interested in evolving collaboration models in the workplace.  But those that posed the questions concerning issues such as security, intellectual property rights, compliance and incentives are my brethren.   Like them, I believe that the zeal over transparent and open collaboration, among and between inter- and intra-corporate teams must be tempered.  (My first testament to this opinion was made in a post to the FastForward blog, nearly a year ago.) 

Those that understand that culture, process and control are important and very real issues within the realm of Enterprise 2.0 are not antagonists, laggards or even roadblocks to the adoption of the technology.  My assumption is that they are seasoned business professionals that have been down this road before with knowledge management, instant messaging, portals, online communities and e-mail. Sure evolving technology models are making open collaboration easier.  This should lead to an acceleration in innovation and a decrease in functional and knowledge silos.  But, if corporate culture and practices are  not aligned with technology  – don’t bother.

As I indicated in my last blog post, in our recent Enterprise 2.0 survey, we found that respondents that were affiliated with an organization that had embraced Knowledge Management were more aware of obstacles and challenges to Enterprise 2.0, but also further along in their adoption of and understanding of  Enterprise 2.0 technology and practices. 

KM: It's Good for Enterprise 2.0

Over the past weeks I have posted several times  to this blog regarding the market research Dan Keldsen and I have been conducting on Enterprise 2.0.  The survey component was completed by 400+ individuals.  We have been poring over the data and we are finding some great pearls of insight, on everything from what works (what doesn't), to how age effects  perception (or not).   

For me personally, one of the more interesting findings is the fact that organizations that have embraced Knowledge Management are far ahead of the rest of the industry in adopting Enterprise 2.0 and leveraging its benefits.  Those of you who follow my musings know that I am proponent of Knowledge Management.  Unlike many consultants and analysts who turned tail when the vibrations from the buzz when silent, I have continued to pontificate on the virtues of this business model.   Knowledge Management continues to thrive in many organizations, manifesting under many other names such as portals, collaboration, innovation management, and now Enterprise 2.0. Our survey findings indicate that adoption and realization of benefits from Enterprise 2.0 is greater in organizations that have embraced Knowledge Management.

How do I know this?  Among the  80+ questions in our Enterprise 2.0 survey,  we inserted 12 questions from the Knowledge Assessment methodology I have used in my consulting practice.  These questions were used in the survey to profile the culture of the respondents’ respective organizations. The profiling identified a sub-group of respondents that worked in a Knowledge Management embracing environment.  The responses provided by this group to other questions, substantially differed from the other respondents,  in many instances.

The data shows that organizations that can be characterized as Knowledge Management-oriented are further along in their adoption cycle of Enterprise 2.0 technology, perceive fewer barriers and are more aware of the potential benefits that Enterprise 2.0 can provide.  Behind this rift likely lies the criticality of corporate culture as a component to a successful deployment of Enterprise 2.0.  Knowledge Management-oriented companies typically have a collaborative, inquisitive and transparent culture, an environment in which Enterprise 2.0 thrives.  Those who have yet to embrace Knowledge Management will find themselves perhaps unimpressed with Enterprise 2.0, and/or scrambling to affect the requisite change in culture in order to maximize the benefits these emerging technologies can provide.

Its just the tip of the iceberg.  We are waist deep in data at the moment (which is why I have been so silent of late), but still on track to release the report at the end of next month.  If interested, you can register for the respective webinar we are holding on March 27th, now.  We are also providing Enterprise 2.0 training, which includes much of the survey findings.

In any case, stay tuned - there is more to come. 

Enterprise 2.0 - Whaddya Think?

Much attention has been paid in this blog to Enterprise 2.0 (previous posts).   The topic seems to grow in interest level, and confusion.  As mentioned previously several times, that is why AIIM Market Intelligence is undertaking a Market IQ study focused on Enterprise 2.0.  Wanting to ensure we cover this topic from all perspectives and experiences we have assembled an advisory panel (press release) consisting of Andrew McAfee, David Weinberger, Patti Anklam, Stowe Boyd and Eric Tsui.

While the panel is a virtual brain trust in Enterprise 2.0, it does not provide the full 360 degree view we want to incorporate into our research.  That is where YOU come in.  We would like to hear about your opinions, experiences and perceptions concerning Enterprise 2.0. You can make them known to us by taking the AIIM Market IQ survey on Enterprise 2.0.  (http://aiimmarketintelligence.questionpro.com/)

You have the opportunity in the survey to forward the survey to friends, which would be much appreciated.  Speaking of appreciation, you may also select a charity (from list provided) to which we will make a $500 donation, on behalf of the survey participants, as well as request an early copy of the survey results.

So please, let us know - whaddya think about Enterprise 2.0.  Is it more marketing hype than reality?  A future or a current impact?  Strategic or peripheral to your organization's business goals?   Answers to questions such as these, and a host of others will be assembled into the AIIM Market IQ report on Enterprise 2.0, which will be available end of Q1, 2008.  Oh yeah, of course there will be much blogging, and hopefully commentary, on this site and Dan Keldsen's blog about the findings as well.  Stay tuned . . .

Face It Facebook - Web 2.0 is Not Completely Open

Those of you who follow this blog know that I am an advocate of Web 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0, but an equal zealot of Content Security.  Indeed, it is no coincidence that the first two AIIM Market IQs focus on Content Security (released - available for download), and Enterprise 2.0 (in progress and slated for Q1 2008 availability.

New, more flexible and far reaching approaches to social computing and networking are very powerful, but all too often, proposers of such functionality feel that such forums need to be self-policing - free and open.  Yeah - no.  Earlier posts have made this case.  Today, one of the poster children for Web 2.0 and social computing, Facebook, made my case once again.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg publicly backed down on Facebook's Beacon advertisements and announced new modifications, aimed at better security and filters (see article). In my opinion, Zuckerberg is lucky that so far no one has sought legal action against him and his company.  Zuckerberg is learning the hard way that even Web 2.0-inclined users still believe that some of their personal content is just that "personal".  Things we may share with our "real friends", may not be things we want to publicly share with our several hundred "Facebook friends". 

This event is an especially powerful commentary on the need to "manage" social networking.  Facebook is often pointed to as a quintessential example of the power of social computing, popular with  "generation millenials", representing the new attitude to networking and "making friends."   When these millenials were personally exposed to the risks involved with unbridled access and sharing of their web experiences, they quickly cried foul, and demanded the protection that generations before them fought for - right to privacy.

In his post, Zuckerberg stated "We missed the right balance,".  Oh yes indeed, and that is the balance between collaboration/innovation and protection/compliance that is the focus of the AIIM Market IQ on Content Security.  Zuckerberg also apologized for the PR fiasco that followed, "It took us too long after people started contacting us to change the product so that users had to explicitly approve what they wanted to share," he wrote. "Instead of acting quickly, we took too long to decide on the right solution."  Success in business today, more than ever, is founded in agility.  This Web 2.0 company has many a enterprise 1.0 lessons to learn.  (Interesting to note that the Market IQ slated for Q3 2008 is on process management and agility.)

It is also interesting to note that this current mistake made by Facebook is more complex than other  privacy mistakes made by Facebook because it involved business partners (i.e  advertisers).  A number of Beacon participants are now also crying foul - stating that they will either temporarily or permanently pull out of the program.   This level of complexity is just the tip of the iceberg regarding multi-client/partner relationships and collaborative processes. 

The moral here, and one that is likely to be echoed in our upcoming Market IQ on Enterprise 2.0, the functionality available through Web 2.0/Enterprise 2.0 represents great opportunity, but tread cautiously and intelligently.   Do not abandon "older" best practices and common sense when embracing new models.  Deploying Facebook-like functionality inside the firewall (Enterprise 2.0) requires careful deployment and strategy, that includes good old fashioned management and security.  Enterprises who have contemplated bringing Facebook inside the firewall may want to rethink that approach.  This is not the first time Facebook has gotten access/security wrong.  This popular millenial social tool may not be ready for business prime time.   

As Web 2.0 Matures Openness Tempered

As readers of this blog know, I am a proponent of Web 2.0, and its corporate counterpart Enterprise 2.0.  You are also aware that I have several times mused about how pure uncensored or unmanaged collaboration is over-hyped, some management makes sense, some control over the who contributes and what is contributed can be necessary.  There was an interesting development in Web 2.0 that supports this position. 

Sermo, a Web 2.0 collaborative site that allows physicians from around the world to exchange ideas and observations, decided recently to expand its community, but simultaneously strengthened its content and user authentication.  Sermo is approximately a year old and already has over 30,000 physicians participating.  The forum was founded as a controlled platform, for doctors only, with assurance that content is protected from the general public.  Sermo is rooted in the philosophy that Web 2.0 collaboration does not have to mean "wide-open", and that contributors can be registered and "approved". 

Today, Sermo announced that it will partner with Pfizer, a move that seems to go against the charter of Sermo, i.e. letting industry commercial opinion into the mix.  Apparently after a year of collaboration, the community of doctors believe there would be value in having input from "the industry", i.e. pharmaceutical R&D professionals.  But, according to the article, "it's expected any postings by Pfizer's medical staff must be clearly identified as coming from a Pfizer source logging onto the system securely from an office computer, said Daniel Palestrant, Sermo's CEO.  In our recent Market IQ on Content Security, we talked about content and user authentication.  This move by Sermo is an excellent example of the value of such functionality. Moreover, Sermo is an example, in my opinion, of the future of many Web 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0 sites, that will rely on content security techniques to provide greater value and control over otherwise chaotic input.

Enterprise 2.0 - Take a Look Around

I am preparing a presentation that I will be giving next week at AIIM Europe, at the AIIM ATM meeting. The topic is Enterprise 2.0, and the role that ECM plays in it.  As I began to formulate my message I decided that I should start with defining Enterprise 2.0.  In a survey that I ran a month ago, I asked several hundred AIIM members to rank their level of understanding of several technologies and concepts.  Among these was Enterprise 2.0.  Only 11% felt they had an expert-to-good level of understanding.  I suspect that the AIIM members are not too different from business professionals overall.  It is interesting that 70% of the same group indicated that collaboration was "critical" to their ECM strategy.  There is much confusion out there regarding Enterprise 2.0 (and the role of ECM in it). 

Serendipitously, earlier this week I was going through the Sunday New York Times and discovered an article that positions Enterprise 2.0 and ECM into the mainstream.   In an effort to help locate Steve Fossett (the millionaire who disappeared last month while piloting his own plane), Amazon.com and Google joined forces to create a Web 2.0 approach to rescue.  The latest satellite pictures of the general area where Fosset disappeared are being made available to volunteers (individuals from around the world) who in their spare time scan through the images and  report anything that warrants a closer look by authorities. The technology and coordination behind the effort is worth reading more about.  But, the point to be made here is that this is a great and dramatic example of ECM and Enterprise 2.0.  Google is making the latest content available in manageable chunks, and monitoring the check-in and check-out of each chunk (read revision control and audit trails.) Amazon is proving a platform that orchestrates large numbers of individuals working collaboratively via the internet in a cooperative manner (read enterprise 2.0).  There you have it - Enterprise 2.0 and ECM. 

Though still somewhat immature, as evidenced by the low ranking of understanding of the concept mentioned earlier, Enterprise 2.0 holds great potential in fostering collaboration and innovation within organizations.  When coupled with traditional approaches to managing content, searching content and process automation, the value proposition for each technology genre grows exponentially. 

AIIM 2.0 - Lets Get Going

In his book, The Rise of the Creative Class, Richard Florida asks a thought provoking question.  I'll paraphrase - If you took a person from 1900 and dropped them into 1950, then took someone form 1950 and dropped him into 2000, who would experience the most marvel, confusion and degree of change?  Florida states that for most of us, the obvious answer is the man from 1900, transported to 1950.  Agree?  Think of the changes is technology.  The 1900 - 1950 time traveler would encounter a dizzying uptake of automobiles, proliferation of telephone, air travel, modern sky-reaching architecture, bridges spanning waterways once only crossable by boat (bridges covered in automobiles),  homes filled with electric appliances to do everything from play stereo music to open cans and keep foods frozen indefinitely.  He would witness advances in medicine that significantly altered life expectancy and the elimination of many diseases.  Although the 1950 - 2000 time traveler would encounter many advances in transportation, architecture and health care, the ability to absorb them and comprehend them would not be as difficult.  Florida proposes that although cars may be easier to drive for longer distances, planes are faster and bigger and home appliances are more slick and efficient the degree of fundamental change would not be as great or difficult to comprehend.  New cars are still driven on basically the same roads. Trains still run on the same tracks. Telephones, though now even more plentiful and operating wirelessly, are in essence still the same appliance providing the same type of connection, and operated in a very similar fashion.  Television, in all its cable-enabled interactive glory is still basically the same form of entertainment (Florida points out that indeed the time traveler could still watch his same favorite TV shows from the 1950s in re-runs.)  Ah but what of the computer?  Florida proposes that even the PC, while an impressive example of progress,  the time traveler from 1950 would not be too hard pressed to learn how to operate it, as it shares the same input (keyboard) device as the typewriter.  He, nor I mean to make light of the power and value of the computer, but to grasp the concept perhaps not as major a leap as seeing a plane for the first time.  So the "winner" is the 1900 - 1950 time traveler.  WRONG - Florida quickly turns the reader's attention back to a different level of change, one far more dramatic in the latter part of the last century.  He proposes the level of social change would spin the head of the 1950 - 2000 time traveler to a dizzying level that far exceeds that caused by technology changes in the first half of the century.  The 1050 - 2000 time traveler may indeed be boggled by work-from home business models, woman and minority executives leading global firms, woman and minorities holding significant political power, smokers banished to parking lots, relaxed dress codes at work and at leisure, an intolerance for ethnic demeaning humor, job-hoppers (as opposed to the life time loyal employee) and a far greater exchange of ideas - individuality over conformity.  A ready mixing of inputs from myriad individuals regardless of geographic location, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and to some degree age.

The agent of change from 1950 - 2000?  Florida proposes many, including increased individual creativity (individualism) and openness in the transfer of ideas - increased communication and collaboration across multiple "barriers".  Herein lies the link to this website.  Florida is, in some part speaking to Enterprise 2.0, the positive side of Enterprise 2.0 (I have earlier blogged on the darker side of Enterprise 2.0).  With the open exchange of experience and ideas, we achieve greater creativity. 

I am particularly excited and focused about this at the moment because I just returned from an AIIM ATM meeting and AIIM Board of Directors meeting.  One of the topics discussed was the approaches that will be used to create more of an open exchange among the AIIM community.  To my delight, the ATMS and board embraced the ideas.  The ECM association will soon be building its knowledge base and creative directions with far greater agility and speed.  Why, because every member will be given a real voice and collectively we should become smarter and more creative.  Collaboration and exchange will not only be supported, but facilitated and encouraged.  Individuals from around the world, across verticals, suppliers of ECM and users of ECM will be open to exchange.  Online communities around verticals, horizontals, products and locality will be born. Market IQ reports will be published as "live documents", organically growing with  individual reactions and related experiences.   Wikipedias will act as knowledge repositories and navigation tools.  In the spirit of Enterprise 2.0, AIIM, the ECM Association will become a highly interactive community of ECM practitioners, thought leaders, solution developers, technicians and business people. 

Yeah, I am pumped with excitement.  The only bad news, in my mind, is that this will take some time, from an infrastructure standpoint to completely deliver on.  But the cultural shift, away from a command and control/push  communication model has been made, and that is a huge first step.

In the interim there are many small next steps in which we can all participate, embryonic though they may be.   This blog and a family of other AIIM blogs are available for ongoing commentary.  I encourage you to post your comments to this posting.  What do you think of AIIM's direction?  What tools, functionality, communities do you want?   Also be aware that AIIM hosts an ECM community in Facebook and an AIIM Linkedin group.  Join, comment - get engaged and be part of the community that ushers in AIIM 2.0.

ECM – Did You Hear That?

Last month I posted on the advent of digiscent content within the world of ECM.  I positioned this subject within the broader topic of digital content - the power and fun in being able to leverage multiple forms of data (text, pictures, audio, video, smell taste). 

In that same vein, I want to draw attention to the upcoming SpeechTEK show.  Though not as edgy as digital odor or “tasty inks”, speech processing and speech recognition nonetheless represents another form of content and functionality for ECM.  Whether as front-end/interface to content capture and content retrieval, interface to workflow/BPM, integrated personalized training/warnings in content or as part of a content security strategy,  digital audio content and speech technology  need to be explored and appreciated by the ECMer.   

I am sad to say I will not be attending the show, and that, unfortunately, from my perspective, SpeechTEK is a bit heavy on the automated customer service side of speech technology application.  But the show does provide a forum at which to become exposed to the latest underlying technology and features of this form of digital content.  What you do with that knowledge and functionality is up to you.  Like I said in the earlier post “God I love ECM – its so cool.”