The METISfiles presented at the Avaya Forum in Oslo on April 26. Pim Bilderbeek, principal analyst, wrapped up the event explaining why businesses need to look to consumer social hubs and evolve their communications and collaboration solutions from separate silos to an integrated mix of devices, apps and solutions on a cloud-based infrastructure. The presentation revolved around three connected themes – driven by innovation in technology and business models – that represent the METISfiles enterprise vision (see graph below).
As enterprises are slowly transitioning towards this vision, collaboration and communication in the enterprise need to adapt and change. Today we can reach virtually anyone on the planet instantly – whenever we want and wherever they are – with the numerous communications channels and devices we have at our disposal. But with this multitude comes the risk of information overload and communications breakdown. In fact, in the enterprise, the advantages of ubiquitous connectivity could be in real danger of being offset through ineffective collaboration between workers, customers, partners and business units.
Enterprises realize they must improve the communication and collaboration experience but are still figuring out how social media integrates within corporate culture and business process. Most enterprises have Stage 1 and 2 communications and collaboration solutions in place and are moving toward Stage 3 and 4. A top-down social communication and collaboration implementation that doesn’t take into consideration both user preference and enterprise needs is bound to fail. Faced with ubiquitous connectivity and customers who are moving to a world that is social, mobile and open, the METISfiles recommends the following to corporations:
- Improve the communication and collaboration experience to attract young talent and to boost productivity and innovation. Advanced collaboration solutions in the enterprise will appeal to workers who are familiar with consumer communication and collaboration tools in their everyday lives.
- Ensure a proposed social communication and collaboration implementation is suited to the conglomerate and employee needs. Employee adoption will be the most important measure of success (and ROI) for both standard and custom-based solutions. Corporations must also implement proper training and education to increase user acceptance.
- Look for a very flexible solution, based on multiple vendors, to support different generations and their specific preferences. A consultant-led approach to building a custom intersection is best in this case.
Below you can find the slides of the presentation. The slides are embedded in this post but can also be downloaded on slideshare.
Do you have a vision on communication and collaboration that you would like to share with us? Would you like to have the METISfiles present at your event, or for an internal company meeting? Let us know!