Implementing Web 2.0: Practical Approach

Knowledge of web 2.0 is key for decision making and strategy building for embracing, provisioning and adopting web 2.0 within the enterprise. But knowing does not always translate into doing it. Web 2.0 is not just about technology, it is about people, processes, cultured and, change and adoption. It is about business strategy, value proposition, and competitive advantage. It is very critical for organizations to implement right and effective implementation methodology to deploy web 2.0 applications in the portfolio, measure return on investment (ROI), and build and sustain competitive advantage.

People drive the vision, commitment, change, and culture. The organizations can only create environments to realize these visions. Vision is not just aligning the thoughts with business drivers, but also introducing new ideas and new initiatives. Not all initiatives see the light, success and adoption, commitment is the black bone of all implementations. Web 2.0 is also intertwined with the change in processes and culture. It is destructive model requires realigning to newer processes, technologies and business strategies. In order to be accomplish your vision, you need a well-thought proven methodology to succeed.

Many organization have adopted web 2.0 principles not as a business strategy but more as an experiments to get on the web 2.0 technology map. These companies are plying low risks strategies and trying to gauge its adoption with respect to business model and corporate culture. Others are still in wait and watch mode, closely monitoring the web 2.0 adoption and success within the enterprise, waiting to see if the Web 2.0 bubble is bursting. If the bubble does not burst as it looks like, these organization will lag behind others who adopted it whether successfully or not.

The web 2.0 implementation methodology framework consist of six stages. It is education, strategy, planning, implementation, adoption and measure & improve. Though it is typical of any methodology to have these stages, but it is important to understand each of the stages in web 2.0 implementation.



The key activities in each of these stages are listed below:

Education

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• Understand Web 2.0 principles
• Enterprise 2.0 Trends
• Applying Web 2.0 to your Business

Strategy

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• Formulate Web 2.0 Vision
• Assess Competitive Advantage
• Strategise Business Transformation

Planning

• Implementation Roadmap
• Technology Selection
• Project Methodology

Implementation

•

• Software Design
• Application Development
• Deployment & Support

Adoption

•

• Community Engagement & Mgmt
• Leading Organization Change Mgmt
• Executive Management Commitment

Measure & Improve

•

• Measure Web 2.0 Maturity
• Gap Analysis & ROI
• Review & Plan

Each of the activities can further be divided into tasks with guidelines and finite deliverable.

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