GeneralUsing Web 2.0 for business

Web 2.0 technology can fundamentally change business processes by delivering productivity gains and making user feedback an integral part of development processes. But many IT managers are shying away from the technology, unsure of how it will fit into their business.

Web 2.0 technology can fundamentally change business processes by delivering productivity gains and making user feedback an integral part of development processes. But many IT managers are shying away from the technology, unsure of how it will fit into their business. A survey of 3,000 executives conducted in January by US consultancy McKinsey found widespread but cautious interest in using Web 2.0 technology to enable greater automation and networking within enterprises. So far, Web 2.0 has had a greater impact on consumer internet technology, where related product categories include social networking, wikis, social bookmarks, blogs and RSS news feeds. These technologies use technologies such as Asynchronous Javascript, XML and Ajax. The success of Google Apps and the entry of many major software suppliers into the web-based application market - including Microsoft with its Live platform and SAP with its hosted AS1 enterprise resource planning tool - points to the potential for much greater penetration of Web 2.0 technologies into enterprises. Neil Ward-Dutton, research director at analyst firm Macehiter Ward-Dutton, said this trend towards using more web-oriented technologies discloses something far more significant. "The fundamental shift going on beneath all the talk about Web 2.0 technology is delivering user functionality through a web browser," he said. "But it is important to separate out whether enterprises are getting IT functionality over the technologies that... [ Read more on www.computerweekly.com ]

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