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Enterprise 2.0 Descends on Boston

Last week, the annual Enterprise 2.0 Conference made its way to Boston. For those unfamiliar with the term, Enterprise 2.0 refers to a new generation of innovative technologies and proceses (primarily "social" and "collaborative" tools) that improve productivity and reduce cost.

This year's conference validated the role social collaboration will play within the enterprise and demonstrated a new generation of tools from industry heavyweights like IBM, Microsoft and Cisco to pure plays like Jive, Yammer and Moxie.

Enterprise 2.0 is moving into the mainstream and healthcare organizations are starting to pay attention.  For example, Cerner led a case study on how its user community (comprised of hospital administrators and providers) has made it simpler for clinicians to access the support they need at the point of care and beyond.  The American Hospital Association shared lessons learned on how leaders built internal support to gain approval for a new social intranet.

Although this year's conference lacked "official" presentations on how Enterprise 2.0 is being leveraged within the healthcare delivery process and world of clinical research, we informaly shared examples of how enterprise social tools are being used to improve the coordination of care, streamline the clinical research process and drive a more standardized practice of care.  

If you are interested in accelerating your organization's own path to enabling increased productivity and improved clinical outcomes, the following resources may be useful:

  - The BrainYard is a new online community and resource center for social business hosted by InformationWeek.  It has a solid collection of articles, whitepapers and tools shared by practitioners.

  - Collection of Notes from Enterprise 2.0 by Bill Ives provides a detailed review and analysis of all the sessions he attended.  From the keynote addresses to hands on workshops, his notes are packed full of insights and provide links to additional resources.

- Information Week debunks 5 Myths of Enterprise Social Networking and explains why most assumptions have proven false, like older workers won't get it.  This myth is simply not true when the fastest growing segment on Facebook is age 55+.

- How to Sell Enterprise 2.0 to the Bosses provides expert advice on how to build a business case and avoid common pitfalls.  The article points out that "pilots" tend to fail because stakeholders and end users have a tough time getting invested given the limited duration.  Instead try a "phased approach" that engages early adopters.

For additional resources and insights on the role of social collaboration in healthcare, please contact the Ozmosis Team.