Published in BCS.org at http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=conWebDoc.20330
24 July 2008
Businesses are missing out on the benefits that Web 2.0 technologies have to offer them, according to an expert.
Many executives think Web 2.0 is a drain on their resources but in fact is a way of engaging with partners and customers and is simply an extension of email, according to the chief executive of IT Governance, Alan Calder, who was speaking in CIO magazine.
'There is a genuine need for CIOs to enable people to use this technology to benefit the firm,' he told CIO magazine.
'No matter what policies a company has in place, people will tell other people what it is like to work there, whether it is through Facebook or a blog and everyone has a computer at home today.'
Banning use of the sites is also effectively saying to young people who use the sites that they are not wanted, and senior management had to understand that the technology is 'embedded in the way of life' of younger people.
'Young workers feel that Web 2.0 technologies such as Facebook, YouTube, blogging and Flikr, are key to how they do their job,' he said.
He did sound a note of caution however, warning that businesses need to be careful with the technology, for instance with the posting of litigious comments