Key Findings
Question 7: Intranet 2.0 Tools
Which of the following Intranet 2.0 tools are being used at your organization?
Findings:
Social media tools such as blogs, wikis and other vehicles, have become mainstream and are present on 87% of organization intranets (regardless of size). Less than 10% of organizations have no interest and no plans for implementing at least one social media tool on their intranet.
Blogs, discussion forums and instant messaging have become mainstream, and are now present in more than 50% of organization intranets (regardless of size):
- 53% have intranet blogs (an 18% increase from last year’s survey); 18% have deployed blogs enterprise wide; only 8% have no plans or interest in deploying blogs
- 52% have intranet discussion forums (a 13% increase from last year’s survey); 23% enterprise use; 9% have no plans or interest
- 51% have intranet instant messaging (an 11% increase from last year’s survey); 34% enterprise use; 19% have no plans or interest
- 49% have intranet wikis (a 4% increase from last year’s survey); 17% enterprise deployment; 11% have no plans or interest
- 44% have intranet RSS (an 19% increase from last year’s survey); 18% enterprise use; 14% have no plans or interest
- 41% have photo and/or video sharing (first year of study); 16% enterprise use; 18% have no plans or interest
- 40% have intranet user commenting (first year of study); 21% enterprise use; 16 have no plans or interest
- 28% have intranet tagging (first year of study); 15% enterprise use; 23% have no plans or interest
- 27% have intranet social networking (a 42% increase from last year’s survey); 13% enterprise use; 19% have no plans or interest
- 24% have intranet podcasts (an 4% increase from last year’s survey); 6% enterprise deployment; 33% have no plans or interest
- 14% have intranet mash-ups (a 75% increase from last year’s survey); 5% enterprise use; 42% have no plans or interest
- 11% have intranet social bookmarking (a 6% increase from last year’s survey); 41% have no plans or interest
Analysis:
Nearly a half dozen of these tools are present in nearly 50% of organizations. Not surprisingly, blogs are the most popular. Of those tools that are growing in deployment the fastest: mash-ups, RSS, social networking and blogs. The prevalence of mash-ups on corporate intranets grew 75% over the past year; social networking grew by 42%. This growth is fuelled by the value they deliver, the ease of deployment (particularly when bundled in CMS or portal solutions), and the frequency of use and popularity of these tools amongst frontline employees and executives alike in their personal lives.
An organization without Intranet 2.0 tools, or plans to use them, risks being out-manoeuvred by the competition. While podcasts and photo & video sharing are not well used, and have questionable value when compared to other alternatives, wikis and blogs are becoming mission-critical tools in some organizations. Social networking, tagging, RSS, discussion forums & mash-ups can also contribute legitimate business value and will continue to increase in popularity. An organization without a 2.0 strategy risks being left behind, or outright failure (death may be slow).
About Prescient Digital Media
Prescient Digital Media is a group of senior intranet and Internet consultants that provide strategic Internet and intranet consulting, planning and communications services to organizations of all sizes.
Prescient plans and builds highly effective websites and intranets that…
- are demonstrably better than the competition;
- make CEOs and users happy; and
- deliver measurable value by increasing sales and employee productivity.
Prescient’s focus includes the assessment, planning, technology selection, content and launch of intranets, websites, and web-based tools for:
- Health and life sciences
- Financial services
- Energy
- Government
- Technology
Prescient services for intranet, Internet and e-Health include:
- Analysis (evaluation, business requirements, user research, benchmarking)
- Planning (strategic planning, functional specifications, information architecture)
- Technology (platform and application evaluation, selection, and implementation)
- Implementation (design, integration, content, tools)
- Marketing (communications, content management, operation, marketing, SEO)
