In an earlier post (For Web 2.0 What’s in the Workflow is What Gets Used), I refered to some ongoing research McKinsey&Company is doing in web 2.0 adoption in the workplace– how and where it is being used and the impact it is having on business.
The research is based an an annual survey of 1700 companies from across the globe in a range of industries and functional areas and has been ongoing now for about three years running. The Mckinsey Quarterly recently summarized results in an interactive visual chart and as a full article in the McKinsey Quarterly titled How companies are benefiting from Web 2.0: McKinsey Global Survey Results (The article is free but you have to join the free membership to see it in full).
The following chart from the interactive feature summarizes how web 2.0 technologies are being used for some internal purposes including managing knowledge and training. Internal blogs and wikis are being used significantly for Managing Knowledge. For Training uses the highest categories are Podcasts and Video Sharing (unfortunately the most presentation oriented technologies of the bunch). Social Networking is being used extensively for fostering collaboration and identifying and recruiting talent.
If you go to the interactive feature be sure to listen to the “about this research” audio snippet. It provides a brief summary of the research and findings across three years. Some conclusions McKinsey draws:
- an increasing number companies are adopting web 2.0 technologies
- more companies will start to use them for wider purposes including customers, internal employees and suppliers
- uses will continue to evolve and get better at deriving business value
the striking result is that 2/3 of the companies are deriving measurable business value.
McKinsey summarizes:
“This year’s survey turned up strong evidence that these advantages are translating into measurable business gains. When we asked respondents about the business benefits their companies have gained as a result of using Web 2.0 technologies, they most often report greater ability to share ideas; improved access to knowledge experts; and reduced costs of communications, travel, and operations. Many respondents also say Web 2.0 tools have decreased the time to market for products and have had the effect of improving employee satisfaction”.
