Mark Adams at Logicalis showed us a blog today from Dennis Howlett debating the perennial question that we bang on about - is there an ROI on second generation web apps, specifically social networking.

As Caspar and I wandered across Waterloo Bridge this morning I said to him do you think we should be applying a critically commercial measure to everything we do.  We are regularly writing and delivering against strategic documents that make clear business justification for the solutions companies deploy which could fall into the web 2.0 bucket.  

Dennis' distils commercial value into three clear elements:

Sales force readiness - keep them informed:

Benefits: better-informed sales force, more competence on sales calls, more cross-selling, better presentations, easier to bring partners up to speed, avoid cost of product training.

This is so true - in my previous life, how my global tech employer longed for the day of the uber sales person who could carry the complete product set in their mind, hold deep relationships across the account base and lead on a consultative sales approach.

Eliminate bureaucracy - Web 2.0 collaboration tools (wiki, IM, KM etc).

Benefits: speed flow of information, cut time wasted searching for answers, streamline organizational process, cut email by half, cease re-inventing the wheel, increase worker throughput 20% to 30%.

Again spot on and the small stuff adopted "gently" can drive the biggest change - wiki's by the back door!.  We are engaging on wiki based roll outs and we look to emulate the stunning success of the DKW story - read Wikinomics - but basically a 75% drop in email inbox size.

Conversation. - Making structured conversation part of the fabric of the organisation.

Benefits: faster cycle time, improved problem-solving, more time on mission, higher morale, lower turnover...

So true but as Dennis points out the cultural barriers are huge, especially if you are reserved English BabyBoomer...culturally the shock is going to be LARGE - and then isn't that the point all along.

CFO's need ROI justification for the adoption of technology. YES... market forces dictate that this must be a sound principle.  Today most CFO's are late Gen X and Baby Boomers.  Culturally they are going to demand justifications that fit with the norms of the environment they grew up in.  Gen X and Y CFO's will still look for the ROI, but the measure of the value will be culturally different.  

I think today, right now, people introducing collaborative environments into enterprise could do a lot worse than keep "Does this make them a £ or save them a £" rolling round their heads as they talk their client through it.  At least if they are doing that they are striving to make the cultural language fit with the people who still do sign the cheques.

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