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In the last module, we began to talk about the transformational impacts of IT within
the firm.
Specifically, in the last module, we discussed how you could leverage IT
to build information capabilities that provide end-to-end visibility across
your value chain, and in the process, transform your cost of operations.
In this module,
we will continue with the discussion of how IT can transform your organization.
However, we will make the shift from enterprise IT
that we talked about in the previous module to network IT.
What's the difference?
Well, if you recall, we discussed in the previous module how ERP
systems impose a certain best-practice business process on your organization.
In turn, we said ERP systems impose an order and structure
on the manner in which employees interact with each other in your organization.
In contrast, network IT, which is the focus of this module,
facilitates unstructured interactions between people in your organization.
It lets people and groups come together, share information and collaborate,
without specifying the terms of this information sharing or collaboration.
Network IT has been fueled by a new breed of technologies called Web 2.0.
These technologies transform the Web from a source of
information to a medium of participation.
In the mid-90s, the Internet put a multimedia printing press and
a global distribution network in the hands of everyone with a bit of bandwidth,
a bit of money and moderate technical expertise.
Blogs, wikis, tweets, all of these have made it possible for
people like you and me to participate and contribute more than ever.
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And examples abound on how, in the age of the Internet,
there's always a microphone nearby.
Be it Senator George Allen's loss because of his macaca comment, or
Dave Carroll's United Breaks Guitars that has received over 100 million views.
Enterprise 2.0 refers to the application of these social network technologies
within a firm to create emergent free-form platforms and
channels for self-expression.
These new information platforms and
channels are especially useful in two cases.
A., when valuable resources, skills and
knowledge are scattered in the organization.
And B., you don't know in advance who has these resources or skills or knowledge.
And how uncommon is the situation?
Not uncommon at all.
You know that the salesperson who interacts directly with the customer
knows best how a new product will fit.
He or she may also chance upon user pain points or
needs that can translate into viable product ideas for your firm.
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In the era before network IT, leaders and managers in firms just could
not retrieve this information, at least not in an efficient or sustainable manner.
As an outcome, decision making persisted in the ivory tower, and the firm
was deprived of information that could enrich its analysis and decision making.
What we'll see in this module is how network IT is changing
the centralized decision making and moving it away from the ivory tower.
From the cathedral to the bazaar.
With network IT, you can get the inputs of that salesperson in
drawing up forecasts and product innovation.
And you, the product manager of that top performing project,
can communicate your experiences firmwide, to the benefit of other projects.
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We will talk about how these unstructured networks in the firm,
now enabled by network IT, impact information flows and decision making.
We will talk about how you can benefit from them.
And most important, how you can implement them effectively in your respective firms.
At first glance, the landscape of possibilities to engage
in an unstructured fashion with your firm's stakeholders may seem bewildering.
But at a high level, these interactions generally take one of two distinct forms.
Collaborative communities or contests,
each best suited to a specific kind of challenge.
Let's examine each one of these in greater detail.
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Here's an example of such a collaborative community, GE's MarkNet.
As of the launch of this community in 2010,
GE had nearly 5,000 marketers located around the world,
spanning over 30 business and sub-business units.
Many were not even aware of each other.
GE needed a way to connect these marketers and leverage their knowledge and
experience for the benefit of other marketers in other units.
They launched the community in 2010, and within four months,
nearly 3,200 people had joined this community.
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The community was organized by idea hubs.
For example, digital marketing, customer experience, communications and
other topics.
Where individuals working in that space, in that domain, across diverse industries,
locations and customer segments could connect and collaborate to mutual benefit.
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As in a social network, folks could blog, tweet, ask queries,
share resources, and communicate with no restriction or limitation.
The next couple of slides, which I've taken from a Forbes article, describe
to you the genesis of the idea, how it was implemented, and the benefits thereof.
As you can see here, the motivation behind this platform was to drive networking
across the company's marketing professionals to promote innovation and
communication.
You see here the recognition that valuable information
lies scattered across the organization.
And to that extent, traditional methods of communication,
such as email, are limited in their impact.
The initiative addressed an important pain point, as reflected in the membership and
activity in the community.
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GE attributes the success of the community not just to shared vision of
the community, but also to senior management involvement and participation
that renders them accessible across multiple levels of the organization.
Indeed, such access is a strong incentive for employees at
other levels of the organization to participate and engage in this community.
The sharing of experiences and
expertise on this network platform seems to also have discernible impacts.
This last page of the article highlights how a marketer in one of GE's
divisions was searching for a vendor to complete a marketing segmentation study.
They posted a request for vendor recommendations on MarkNet.
A team in another division in another part of the world had both the expertise and
the time to complete the project, for the cost of the team's time.
This arrangement, the article argues, saved the company $250,000.
The example of MarkNet illustrates that collaborative communities, or
any other social network platforms in your firm for that matter,
are very valuable in sharing and
aggregating valuable information across your firms, towards many strategic ends.
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These communities are also equally valuable
in revealing to you informal networks in your organization.
Because they map and measure relationships and information flows between individuals,
business units, product segments and geographies in your firm.
Indeed, network analytics of these communities
can reveal to you very valuable insights.
And my favorite example to illustrate in this context is that of MasterFoods.
Deepa ManiAssociate Professor and Executive Director, Srini Raju Centre for IT and the Networked Economy
