Dear professionals, New IDC Study Addresses Management Challenges, Best Practices Achieved through the Integration of Enterprise Social Network Tools

Entitled ,‘’Becoming a SocialBusiness: Integrating Social Software Assets Throughout the Enterprise ‘’, Connectikpeople has observed that, this report addresses the management challenges and subsequent best practice outcomes that can be achieved through the integration of existing enterprise social network tools with other networks or enterprise applications.

In this dynamic, the analysis found that organizations may not integrate disparate social networks in the short term as other areas of business investment take priority, but they will begin to target online communities as a way to incent ongoing conversations and to connect disconnected social networks inside and outside the

enterprise.

"An enterprise social network should become the social 'backbone' in a company by forming a relationship layer across the business to facilitate information sharing and collaboration in the context of work processes," said Vanessa Thompson, Research Manager, Enterprise Social Networks and Collaborative Technologies.

Therefore, IDC recommends that companies create awareness and increase the number of interactions a customer or partner has with a company, product, or service by connecting enterprise social networks with online communities to engage in bidirectional feedback between businesses and their constituents. Additionally, the handoff between the technology solution and organizational silos needs to be integrated, and all business constituents need to be engaged and involved in the enterprise social network in some way.

And finally Vanessa Thompson, Research Manager, Enterprise Social Networks and Collaborative Technologies, concluded:

‘’ Enabling this social 'backbone' requires the ultimate solution to be open, extensible, and easily integrated with existing social networks, content repositories, and enterprise applications. For organizations to support the changing nature of work, they will also need to consolidate internal applications where redundant processes start to occur. This will be the common approach for the foreseeable future until all applications are built to be inherently social and other applications are replaced."

About IDC

International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based decisions on technology purchases and business strategy. More than 1,000 IDC analysts provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 100 countries. For more than 49 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help our clients achieve their key business objectives. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research, and Events Company. www.idc.com.