Will Microsoft Become Facebook for the Enterprise?

Right now, I would grade MOSS 2007 a B- in terms of it being a social computing platform (from a technology perspective):

• Blogs:B-
• Wikis:C+
• Tag/Social Bookmark System: N/A
• Social Networking: B+
• XML Syndication: N/A (feed aggregation and management)

The blog capability within SharePoint is not as complete as competing solutions such as Moveable Type or WordPress. The Wiki feature is not as functional as what can be delivered via Confluence. (Actually, it is not uncommon to find a lot of MediaWiki platforms deployed. Traction Software also comes up as a strong hypertext platform that supports both blogs and wikis.) There is no tag and social bookmark capability within SharePoint (similar to what Connectbeam can provide). SharePoint also does not have the complete back-end feed aggregation and management system found in platforms from Attensa, NewsGator and KnowNow. In addition, the SharePoint team seems to be avoiding any statement of direction when it comes to supporting Atom and Atom Publishing Protocol versus RSS (RSS is simply not a strategic direction for an enterprise to pursue). When it comes to social networking (a loaded term to begin with), SharePoint does have credible capabilities but it is not as complete as it could have been given the decision to postpone the Knowledge Network technology until a future release. Still, the MySite function within SharePoint coupled with the "social distance" feedback within the search engine can deliver adequate social networking functionality.

Microsoft does attract vendor partners that often fill-in gaps and weaknesses in native capabilities and this situation is true when it comes to social software. Socialtext released SocialPoint in October of 2006 and NewsGator is working on a product, Social Sites, to provide that back-end feed management framework. Microsoft also provides a hosting platform, CodePlex, where customers can create and share projects that extend SharePoint capabilities (such as the Community Kit). However, clients need to read the small print and fully understand the "terms of use" and any associated risk (e.g., lack of technical support, possible absence of an upgrade path). In terms of the Community Kit for instance, the license states "The software is licensed "as-is." You bear the risk of using it. The contributors give no express warranties, guarantees or conditions."

The competitive landscape for social software and platforms that deliver "Facebook for the enterprise" is rapidly evolving. Some might also label this space as "Enterprise 2.0".

• IBM has delivered Lotus Connections.
• BEA has delivered AquaLogic Pages and AquaLogic Pathways.
• Oracle is beginning to think in terms of Web 2.0/Enterprise 2.0 (e.g., folksonomy and tags) and is showcasing some innovating thinking with its AppsLabs effort.
• SAP is also leveraging social networking capabilities internally with its "Harmony" system, as noted here.
• There are plenty of open source and specialized vendors in this space as well. In addition to the ones already mentioned, Leverage Software, SelectMinds and KickApps play in the social networking space. Scuttle is an open source tag/bookmark system; MindTouch has an interesting spin on wikis. Jive Software is also building a "mini-suite". SpikeSource is another option that received a lot of attention at the Enterprise 2.0 conference.

Business and IT strategists are left with the classic "best of breed" vs. large platform vendor debate. In some cases, organizations will decide that sub-optimal solutions from large platform vendors will suffice. In the case of SharePoint, organizations might not have pressing business requirements to deliver best-in-class solutions for blogs or wikis - they might be able to wait until a future release - or they might be able to supplement their needs with add-ons from other vendors - or pursue the CodePlex option. In other cases, organizations will determine that the solutions offered by specialized vendors are either tactical bets for the next 2-3 years or strategic in some cases if they deliver competitive differential in terms of business goals.

In many ways, the issue as to whether Microsoft will or will not become Facebook for the enterprise is the wrong question. Right now, there are several technical deficiencies in SharePoint but companies may or may not care given its overall strengths as a unified collaboration and content management platform and synergies with other Microsoft technologies. Microsoft is likely to fill most social computing gaps through acquisition or in the next SharePoint release. Companies that cannot wait have plenty of options. Better questions (in the context of these articles and blog posts below) to generate some discussion are more along the lines of:

• If you had Facebook in the enterprise - would it make any difference?
• Why wouldn't a Facebook-like platform be a catalyst for change?
• If those workforce/workplace transformations did occur, in what ways would a Facebook make a difference in your organization?

From a business perspective, a "Facebook for the enterprise" is not a technology endeavor alone. Decision-makers need to chart technology directions that are in the context of market, societal and customer trends as well as internal factors such as culture and workplace dynamics (e.g., a multi-generational workforce). Strategists also need to consider whether management structures and practices might have a stifling influence on any social computing effort. Having a "white pages" directory listing of employees is fairly straight-forward, even in a "command-control" environment. Delivering a platform that engenders the type of social atmosphere associated with Facebook is a more complex proposition that can be negated if community-building and social interaction is discouraged. Strategists and decision makers need to value a healthy and thriving "informal organization". From an IT perspective, navigating the maze of vendor "marketecture" requires that organizations avoid product-centric allegiances and go back to reference architecture best practices that rely on principles, technical positions, and templates (blueprints) when establishing governance frameworks and technology standards.

Related Articles & Blog Posts    

Earlier comments on this topic (SharePoint and social software)

Microsoft SharePoint Team Blog Post

We will be posting a series of blog entries very soon about how SharePoint Server 2007 can provide a significant portion of the answer to the question above. We will describe in detail how Microsoft is already using MOSS 2007 to enable Facebook like social networking functionality within our intranet, and what non-technical issues such as privacy, security, multilanguage, and diverse cultures had to be resolved. We will also disclose at the appropriate time how SharePoint vNext will provide the bulk of the answer to the "Facebook for the enterprise" question plus so much more from the perspective of Social Computing for Business.

Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies Team Blog : Will Microsoft Become Facebook for the Enterprise?

CIO Insight Article #1

The nation's fourth largest bank will roll out a social networking service for 110,000 employees over the next several months, giving workers a sophisticated knowledge-management platform that combines the user-friendly approach of the popular Facebook service with broad integration into Wachovia Corp.'s business applications.

The vendor for the big project isn't one of the many contenders such as Visible Path, SelectMinds and Leverage Software in the burgeoning enterprise social-net market, or the ballyhooed Facebook itself. It's Microsoft, which offers easy interconnection with other applications via its Office SharePoint Server product. Integration into the daily routine of business was a difference-maker in choosing the software.

Social Networking

CIO Insight Article #2

Meanwhile, several purpose-built products are competing to do business with businesses. Facebook's got the early mindshare among workers, but companies like Visible Path, SelectMinds, and Leverage Software may be more viable contenders in the long run.

Know It All - - Digital Life and Digital Work

Comments

[Niall Cook]

Mike,

I'd agree with your overall evaluation, although we are working hard to integrate our .Net-based social bookmarking system into SharePoint right now.

Niall

[Lynda Radosevich]

Mike,

I agree that social networking is a loaded term. And I'm beginning to wonder what people mean when they say social networking for the enterprise? Is it a social graph with applications on top, a set of many-to-many communications tools, a user-generated corporate directory or a combination? Now that the core social networks concepts have gone mainstream, we need a second level of definition to describe different applications.

Lynda Radosevich
Visible Path

[Ted Stanton]

Hey Mike, interesting title for the entry, considering I am in agreement with you that Sharepoint has little or no technology for social computing software. Just to be up-front, I working in this space for IBM and did some comparison around some vender's last month that you can see here. http://www-03.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/InsideLotus?entry=ibm_is_the_lead_innovator

[Jeremy Thake]

Mike, great article. I'm currently constructing a presentation on Enterprise 2.0 and SharePoint. I have found all these things over the last few weeks of research. I guess the one thing to take into account is the power of the Microsoft marketing strategy and also the community. I don't think it will be long before these weaknesses are solved by solutions by CodePlex and Partner software.
I believe that SharePoint is a very strong base platform to work off and with the large .NET community that is already out there, SharePoint will become an attractive platform to extend their skills to.

[Lawrence Liu]

Mike, thanks for providing such a succinct and balanced perspective about SharePoint within the context of Social Computing for Business! I wish I had more time to be out there blogging, evangelizing, and speaking at conferences, but I'm too busy (and having too much fun) working with our dev teams to make SharePoint vNext the premier platform for SCB. Our customers (and partners) want a flexible and extensible platform that they can bet on long term rather than a bunch of best of breed silos that they have to integrate or throw away later. That's why SharePoint is doing so well in the market today, and the "doubledowning" of our SCB investments in vNext will position us extremely well for continued success in the future.

Niall, please ping me about integrating your product with SharePoint. :-)

Lawrence Liu
Senior Technical Product Manager for Social Computing
Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies