Consumer technology has raced so far ahead of the enterprise that people used to blogs, mashups, and Ajax apps on the Web can feel like they've stepped through a time warp when they face circa 1990s technologies at work. Companies need to adapt, but wisely--not all Web 2.0 technologies are useful in business.
The Web 2.0 label covers a variety of tools, all aimed at helping people communicate and collaborate more efficiently. Most companies will focus on mashups, which mix data from internal and external sources in new ways. Some are simply innovative ways of presenting information, but the most advanced are full-blown apps, with many vendors promoting development platforms aimed at staff without programming experience.
Other Web 2.0 tools are best kept within an organization's borders. For example, setting up shop in Second Life will be a waste for most businesses, but virtual environments can be useful as a way to host internal meetings, allowing more interaction than voice alone at a lower cost than videoconferencing. The same goes for wikis, which act as straightforward but powerful knowledge management systems.
At the other extreme, social networking has little use behind the firewall. The killer apps for sites like Facebook or LinkedIn are finding a date and a job, something few businesses want to encourage internally. But the mashup APIs exposed by these sites can be valuable ways to communicate with customers, while businesses that add social networking features to their own sites can encourage customers to communicate with one another.
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