It’s not the marketing department or the GenYers in a company who are likely to spearhead deployment of Web 2.0 technologies—it’s the IT department itself.That’s one of the major findings from a new study by Forrester Research, which found that even though early corporate adopters of technologies like social networking, wikis, blogs, mashups, RSS feeds, widgets and podcasts usually were driven by marketing and other business functions, adoption has grown to the point where the IT department now is taking more of a leadership role.
One reason, said study author G. Oliver Young, is that the technology has matured, along with the proficiency level of IT staff. Others include the need to standardize Web 2.0 tools across a company and the efficiency that IT involvement can bring.
What’s more, IT professionals maintain a balanced attitude toward Web 2.0 technologies; they see the value, but they also see the risks. IT staff expect Web 2.0 to have a large impact on the business, with 63% of IT professionals expecting them to exert a moderate or substantial impact over the next three years. But they also see the risks; without standardization and oversight, Web 2.0 tools can provide employees and others the opportunity to access corporate data.
These reasons are why Forrester recommends that CIOs, marketing departments and other corporate areas welcome IT into the world of Web 2.0. Tech marketers must recognize that IT is largely in control of Web 2.0 deployments, Young writes, and companies should welcome the chance to capitalize on IT’s tech savvy and independence.
These messages are as important to smaller businesses as they are to large enterprises. According to a February, 2008 study from Forrester Research, 33% of companies with 500 to 999 employees had purchased Web 2.0 tools, while 15% were considering them. In companies of 100 to 499 employees, 26% had purchased them and an additional 16 percent were considering them.
