We are in the throes of working with IT departments to get new web services implemented for our programs. This morning Rod Boothby's great blog, Innovation Creators, had a reference to a paper, “Business and I.T. Must Work Together to Manage New “Web 2.0″ Tools.” (The paper is Copyright 2006 by Dennis D. McDonald and Jeremiah Owyang. Dennis can be reached at ddmcd@yahoo.com and Jeremiah at jeremiah_owyang@yahoo.com.) This is a must read for anyone looking at implementing web services behind the firewall. Here are some excerpts:

It is possible for corporate employees of departmental business units (e.g., “John Doe” a Marketing Manager) to easily use these technologies to publish business-related information, with or without the corporate I.T. department’s knowledge or involvement. Inexpensive or “free” services are easy to initiate and operate without any involvement of the I.T. department. As a result, many business units (and individuals acting on their own) have learned to use these tools independently.
Ease of use, and seeming low cost, do not necessarily mean that the corporate I.T. department's role is irrelevant. Even in cases where customer facing units choose to outsource the management of new technologies, business unit and corporate I.T. strategy must still be aligned. Failure to do so can result in a disconnect between business units and I.T. Potential alignment-related issues include:
* Lack of scalability of the new technologies. This can occur when the volume and type of usage needed by the company outstrips what free or low cost services provide.
* Over-dependence on expensive or overlapping service providers. This exists when different business units secure different outside vendors for the same or similar services, services that could be provided more effectively and cheaply by a single vendor, resulting in multiple product or customer sources of information.
* Downstream system and data inconsistencies that make it difficult to integrate business processes. This problem might not show up for years, but when it does, it can be very expensive to resolve given the costs associated with retrospective data, application, and process conversions.
* Over-spending on technology due to a failure to understand the total costs involved in using the new media. For example, despite the desire to avoid corporate bureaucracy, going “outside channels” for technology procurement can lead to missed opportunities to negotiate more favorable terms.
* Performance issues of unsupportable 3rd party applications create dependency on an outsourced host, network, and security system without being able to rely on a certifiable service level agreement can present unknown risk and downtime in application performance and data.
Below we suggest some approaches that companies can follow to help align business and I.T. in the management and use of interactive technologies such as blogs, podcasts, and wikis:
1. Awareness of Business Needs. I.T. departments need to anticipate the needs of their business users and plan accordingly. This requires sensitivity to business needs and their impacts on service demand, regular communication with users, and the imagination to see where new technologies can help the business accomplish its goals. I.T. units can be proactive in learning new technologies. Also consider the use of newer web tools within the I.T. department as part of its internal management resources, e.g., through the use of internal corporate blogs to communicate within the company.
2. Establish clear lines of responsibility for managing and paying for the technologies. Start with the (admittedly over-simplified) statement “IT owns plumbing and business unit owns content.” Determine who owns content, strategy, support, and costs. If necessary, begin by reviewing other corporate communications strategies and technologies in light of a basic “RACI” analysis that outlines:
* Who has ultimate Accountability for managing and ensuring success of the corporate “Web 2.0” Strategy (i.e., who gets fired if it fails)?
* Who has Responsibility for making sure the job gets done right?
* Who needs to be Consulted in the course of making decisions and taking actions?
* Who needs to be Informed after the fact?
3. Hire trustworthy employees who know how to interact with all levels of the customer base. Creating blog or podcast content are communication jobs, even when they involve technology. Knowledge of corporate policy, products, and strategy are key, as well as the ability to deal with potentially irate customers.
4. Establish a conversational not a confrontational strategy. For example, develop a corporate blog before a crisis erupts so that customers and consumers (and vendors and suppliers) know about and can find your location on the web.
5. Coordinate all communication channels. Make sure that the call center, web page, corporate library, PR department, and marketing department are aware of the blogging strategy and the basic policies associated with management. Consider an internal channel or “knowledge base” for mediating information.
6. Demand that I.T. support both process and technology. Technologies are bound to change and evolve in addition to vendors who supply technology services. IT should be responsible for making sure the technology is cost effective, appropriate to the task, is compatible with corporate IT architecture and IT strategy, and is safe and secure.
7. Prepare crisis management game plans in advance and practice them. Keep them up to date and ready to implement. Don't make the common mistake of assigning responsibilities only to named individuals without considering the implications of corporate mobility and job shifts on who does what in an emergency.
8. Be active, not just reactive. Create content that is high quality, trusted, and intelligent. Make your web site, blogs, and podcasts good enough that people seek them out and become repeat users. Use appropriate metrics and analytical tools (e.g., Google Analytics or related services) to measure effectiveness.
9. Regularly analyze and report to management on the nature of communication and content. Don't just track page counts and traffic, make sure to track concepts, problems, issues, and ideas as well.
10. Be prepared for negativity. Develop thick skin, be prepared to respond to attacks, help to clarify the root issue and corporate commitment to resolving issues — do so quickly and sincerely.
11. Be prepared for the long haul. Establishing a two-way conversation with customers and prospects takes time. Don’t expect to generate “warm and fuzzy” responses after only a month or two.

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This entry was posted on Friday, January 20th, 2006 at 4:10 pm and is filed under Innovation. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site. Your comments will be moderated but will appear as soon as humanly possible.