SilverStorm consultora SaaS, PaaS y partner integrador de ServiceNow

Last week I attended the CIOnet Spain conference dedicated to the topic "Social Networks and the business opportunities they represent".

It didn't take long to realize how important this topic is for our region; the fact that the Corporate Innovation Center at Distrito Telefónica was full with some of the most important CIOs and IT Managers in Spain was more than enough to highlight the fact that Social Networking functionality and the possible benefits is high on everyone's agenda or interest to many.

Great presentations from Samuel Ronquillo, CEMEX and Joaquín Reyes, CEPSA as well as a debate stimulated by Jaime Izquierdo, NewMahwa - The Social Xperts Lab all focused on the clear fact that any Social Network project within and organization is faced with two major challenges - "maintain collaboration" and "achieve cultural change".

Here are some of my opinions on this subject:

1. Projects of this type are still a concept to most people.  So there isn't a playbook, there are no strict guidelines and the rules have not yet been defined.  Samuel Ronquillo clearly stated that they are still finding new situations that had not previously been envisaged.  If you are looking for a highly defined project with a fixed goal before you start, then perhaps this isn't right for you.
2. It's not just about Facebook.  There is a clear indication that Social Collaboration can drive the capture and distribution of business Core Competencies.  Gary Hamel, a leading management expert, is quoted saying "Right now, your company has 21st-century internet-enabled business processes, mid 20th-century management processes, all built atop 19th-century management principles".  It really does highlight the importance to achieve cultural change.
3. Governance has enormous role to play, but it shouldn't suffocate the spirit of the project.  The architecture of the solution must be able to adapt to the necessity of collaboration.  Still - this is technology that should be driven and measured and as such Governance rules.
4. You must not underestimate the capacity for innovation within the business.  I've studied a lot on this topic and have bought into what Eric Von Hippel, professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management teaches.  User innovation is aligned to the success of the business.  I guess we can add the "collaboration" tag here.
5. A very important point made by Joaquín Reyes is that innovation must have an objective.  innovating for innovating sake will get you nowhere.  So although these projects are very innovative, they must however, point towards an increment in productivity.  This should be tangible, but there may well be indirect improvements as well - for example - enhanced productivity through a happy and engaged workforce.
6. The Service Desk is the "touch-paper" for IT; it's where "rubber meets the road" between IT and the business.  By introducing Social Collaboration at this level, IT departments can increment the level of Internal Customer Satisfaction whilst at the same time reducing the burden on IT resources.  See my blog: Redes Sociales e ITSM: "Customer Service vs Service Support" http://www.silver-storm.com/brainstorm/redes-sociales-e-itsm-customer-service-vs-service-support.html
7. Social Collaboration projects are important if organizations are to harness the latent information contained within the individuals, teams, areas, regions, etc.  Knowledge Management for the future.
8. Social Collaboration will reduce costs; just in the case of IT Support, the cost of a technician physically attending an Internal Customer is estimated to being 10 times more expensive than the equivalent fix through "community support"

My final comment is to reiterate what Joaquín Reyes mentioned during his presentation.  Simply put "if you don't publish, then you won't exist".

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