CIOs are ideally placed to engineer access to a wider network of people, resources, information and knowledge -- even extending beyond the boundaries of the company, according to futurist Peter Cochrane. He says that CIOs are prime candidates to forge new opportunities for resource-sharing and joint developments that will result in real-time operational data, speedier and more accurate decision making, greater efficiency and timely awareness of business trends.

Web 2.0 and related Enterprise 2.0 technologies hold the promise of harnessing all data, information, knowledge and intelligence. They are at once fixed and mobile; high speed and zero latency; driven from the edge, user-centric, creativity-enabling, and knowledge based. An Enterprise 2.0 environment has the potential to universally connect people and devices to present a new communal working medium powered by network-based translators that overcome the lack of device and application standardization.

Certainly these are grandiose promises, and we are still in the early stages of implementation. Nevertheless, I believe that when the dust settles, Enterprise 2.0 will have major implications for global companies and also for forward-looking CIOs. New modes of operation and business models, as well as greater efficiencies with more output-per-unit resources, can be achieved. Additionally, I am optimistic that new levels of interconnectivity — manifested in multiple forms of social networking — are likely to solve a problem that has plagued us for decades: inter- and intra-business collaboration.

In workforce survey after survey — including one conducted earlier this year by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management — a key complaint is a lack of information at all organizational levels. This is closely followed by the frustration of not being able to contribute to the company through obvious mechanisms and innovations. For their part, managers habitually complain that they can never get accurate and up-to-date information.

Greater Access, Empowerment

Despite all our technologies and efforts to date, we have failed to adequately address this dilemma. Web 2.0 offers real solutions, but only if managers and workforces shift their thinking. Those who seek to be powerful through the hoarding of information and resources, or by limiting access and controlling communication, will hit the wall. In contrast, those who strive to be influential through transparency and information-sharing will win out in the long run. In short, greater access to information and knowledge, coupled with the empowerment of the individual, will democratize the workplace for everyone.

Who should be the exemplar and role model in this collaborative enterprise? Without doubt, the office of the CIO should be taking a lead. CIOs are ideally situated to facilitate access to a wider network of people, resources, information and knowledge — even extending beyond the boundaries of the company. CIOs are prime candidates to forge new opportunities and partnerships for resource sharing and joint developments. The rewards for the business will be real-time operational data, speedier and more accurate decision making, greater operational efficiency and timely awareness of business trends.

While many IT departments are currently focused on daily PC and network support, Web sites, e-mail and server maintenance, in the future they will need a far broader vision. The future isn't about installing the next version of software on every PC or even ensuring a secure operation. Though important, these functions can be outsourced and provided more effectively at a much lower cost. The freed resources can then be engaged in more critical tasks, such as knowledge management, business modeling and decision support. And for many, a key element will include scenario testing of business-critical decisions in near-real time.

Once CIOs embrace these new capabilities, Enterprise 2.0 will increase the span and speed of business and lead to new forms of virtualization. Many of these advances are already under way in the energy and manufacturing sectors, where skill shortages have encouraged competing companies to depend on a common pool of technical expertise.

This technology transformation began in the form of social networks and multiplatform computing outside of the workplace and is now being infused into industry by younger workers and forward-looking CIOs. While adoption has been rapid, full-scale change of this magnitude might take a decade to complete. That is about the time it usually takes to change all the equipment, software and management processes blocking progress. There is a huge first-mover advantage to be realized in terms of efficiency and cost savings for those who act quickly. Once started in earnest, however, adoption will be like an avalanche, and you won't want to get caught behind its curve.

Ask the Expert

Peter Cochrane, Co-Founder, Chairman and Director, Cochrane Associates
pcochrane@smartenterpriseexchange.com

Peter Cochrane joined BT Laboratories in the U.K. in 1973 and has worked on a wide range of technologies and systems. In 1993 he was appointed as the Head of Research, and in 1999 he became BT's Chief Technologist. In November 2000, he retired from BT to to form his own startup company — ConceptLabs — which he founded with a group out of Apple Computers in 1998 at Campbell, Calif., in Silicon Valley. In 2006, Cochrane left ConceptLabs and formed (Cochrane Associates) to exploit the new business opportunities afforded by the latest technologies.

A graduate of Trent Polytechnic and Essex University, he has been a Visiting Professor at Essex, Southampton and Kent universities. He was the Collier Chair for the Public Understanding of Science & Technology at the University of Bristol and is a member of the New York Academy of Sciences. Cochrane has published and lectured widely on technology and the implications of IT and is also a regular contributor to the international and electronic press, radio and TV. He writes a blog, Uncommon Sense, for Silicon.com.