The Two Cisco's...

For some time I've pointed out the need for the Cisco groups responsible for enterprise collaboration (including unified communications, mobile, WebEx, etc.) to be better aligned with the more consumer-centric, social media-focused EOS group(s). Case in point - below - study released from one side of the house that seems to be disconnected from the broader collaboration message. Eos was not mentioned at the Cisco Collaboration Summit and suddenly it is at the center of a social media social networking storyline that has consumer and enterprise implications.

Should be easy to fix ... repeat: "should be" ... I've pointed this out for some time now.

That said, this theme aligns perfectly with a recent report (see below) Alice Wang and I authored on social media and social networking that addressed similar issues (e.g., need for governance, decision framework, closer involvement from IT organizations due to issues such as identity and security).

Global Study Reveals Proliferation of Consumer-Based Social Networking Throughout the Enterprise and a Growing Need for Governance and IT Involvement

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) today released the results of a third-party global study designed to assess how organizations use consumer social networking tools to collaborate externally, revealing the need for stronger governance and IT involvement. The research is the first of a two-part series that Cisco has commissioned to explore the impact of social networking and collaboration applications in the enterprise.

The new study is based on extensive interviews with 105 participants representing 97 organizations in 20 countries around the globe. Conducted between April and September 2009, the research was carried out by leading business schools in the United States and Europe: IESE Business School in Spain, E. Philip Saunders College of Business at the Rochester Institute of Technology in the U.S., and Henley Business School in the United Kingdom.

The use of consumer-based social networking tools, such as Facebook and Twitter, as collaboration platforms is connecting organizations with the external world in myriad ways. These tools bring technology and business together through innovative experiences, connect people and information, establish potential new routes to market, and enhance customer intimacy and brand awareness. The study findings indicate that the business world is at the early stages of adopting these tools and in the process of identifying key challenges, such as the need for increased governance and IT involvement, which may impact the integration and adoption of these new platforms and technologies.

Global Study Reveals Proliferation of Consumer-Based Social Networking Throughout the Enterprise and a Growing Need for Governance and IT Involvement

Cisco Eos - Social Networking

Branded Online Social Entertainment Experiences
Cisco Eos allows media companies to combine social audience features with their high-value, branded content to deliver a higher-value, interactive entertainment experience today's consumers expect. Eos delivers a social entertainment experience where consumers can interact with others around their favorite entertainment content in an environment defined, branded, and monetized by the media owner. Eos enables:

• Greater online brand visibility and website traffic
• Deeper audience engagement
• New revenue opportunities

Eos Social Networking Features
Over 40 pre-built modules are available to include in each website experience, allowing deeper, more personal consumer connections. Modules include:

• User profiles
• Forums and message boards
• Blogs
• Content sharing (including YouTube uploads)
• Commenting and rating
• Activity feeds and alerts
• Branded video players

Cisco Eos - Social Networking

Burton Group Clients Only:

Many believe that the main purpose of social media is to improve brand awareness and corporate communications. The result is that marketing groups typically own social media initiatives. Although this approach may suffice initially, as strategies become more comprehensive, the complexity of dealing with different solution providers, and a diverse collection of application scenarios, introduces technology-related issues that marketing teams may inadvertently overlook. IT organizations should have a more prominent role in social media programs to help business management address tactical and long-term implications of governance, social computing, identity, security, and risk management.

Social Media’s Cautionary Tale: A Management Overview

Comments

[Scott Brown]

Mike,

Thanks for the comments.

While it might not be evident, the various software groups at Cisco DO in fact share foundational technologies that are incorporated into the solutions that are tailored to the unique needs of different customer segments.

Given that we serve different customers (from entertainment brand managers to corporate IT departments) we necessarily apply and present similar technologies in different ways to solve different problems. This is particularly apparent in our “social” applications because it’s such a broad set of technologies that can be applied in different ways that result in completely different business outcomes.

That outcome could be for business collaboration, or it could be for entertainment. For example, a blog can be used to help customers with their support issues. It can also be used to publish content for some sort of paid-entertainment experience. Both are equally valid (and potentially economically valuable) uses of that technology, but at the least require very different go-to-market strategies for the vendor.

That is exactly the situation for Cisco’s use of “social.” Speaking for the Cisco Eos platform, we purpose-built it for media companies to deliver ENTERTAINMENT EXPERIENCES to their fans. In this context, media companies see “collaboration” as a dirty word – they don’t want to collaborate with fans in the same sense (and therefore don’t use exactly the same features) that you want to get your company to work more efficiently and effectively -- media companies DO want to engage fans in a more interactive, immersive experience and that’s what the Eos platform delivers.

As I've already mentioned, while the end experiences may appear radically different, Cisco does share underlying technologies (e.g. a standard video player, blogging tool, content ingest system, etc) to deliver those experiences.

[Social Networking Software]

Excellent write up, you make great points about the need for, yet the inherent lack of collaboration.