According to recent research from NewsGator, enterprise social computing makes sense even in a down market given the hard cost reductions associated with even a modest investment.
Enterprise 2.0 projects reveal several ways, many far from obvious, to more than recoup the cost of a social computing initiative. They include reducing the costs of email storage, content, printing, enterprise software, travel, employee on-boarding and enterprise application integration.
- Reducing email volume
- Reducing premium content costs
- Lower printing budgets
- Reducing expensive seats of enterprise software
- Trimming travel budgets.
The possibilities of Web 2.0 demand a novel approach to marketing. The competitive advantage will go to those who can work with the new approach and tools, accept the user’s voice as part of the mix and give users options for interaction. Creative and intelligent use of Web 2.0 tools can help marketers reach customers; better understand and manage their image on the web; and refine operational practices to stay ahead of the competition.