I recently had the opportunity to author an article for CMSWire discussing how organizations looking to implement a collaboration solution find the right one.
While companies were busy evaluating the benefits of enterprise social networks (ESN), their employees went ahead and implemented their own systems.
ESN were born from a fusion of commercial networks like Facebook and enterprise content management systems. They aimed to increase collaboration among geographically dispersed workforces, as well as improve information transparency and visibility.
In the article, I discuss two simple steps that organizations can take to select the right collaboration solution and plan for a successful implementation. These steps include:
Dig Up the Roots
Find out whether your departments have evaluated or invested in their own solutions to solve these issues. The most important thing here is to discover why teams adopted their respective solutions and what problems they solved. Some common reasons for implementation include:
- Familiarity: If someone uses software in his or her personal life to solve a similar problem, they’ll often consider the software as a potential organizational solution.
- Low barriers to entry: A solution that’s accessible via web browser or mobile application is easier for today’s workforce to adopt.
- No training necessary: The more intuitive a system is, the less training someone will need to use it effectively.
- Lack of infrastructure: Software-as-a-service offerings are extremely popular with business users because they do not need much more than an email address or a credit card to get started.
- Department-specific problems: A department might adopt a solution because they assume that no other departments are experiencing the same pain points.
Impact Assessment
Before choosing a solution, assess the impact it will have on the workforce, IT and the organization as a whole. End-users already struggle with information overload, so adding a new company-wide system may exacerbate the issue.
A thorough assessment will help you evaluate potential collaboration solutions with a sharper eye and find the solution that will better match your needs.
To read more about the benefits of implementing a collaboration strategy and how to do so, please visit CMSWire.
To learn how AvePoint can help organizations implement lightweight solutions to share information across the enterprise, please visit our website.
