Customers looking to implement Enterprise 2.0 technologies can select among a broad variety of competing solutions in the marketplace. In particular, enterprises can choose between standalone social tools (blogs, wikis, forums), or broader, platform-centric offerings. Standalone tools typically offer best-of-breed features and more rapid implementations, but can also lead to disconnected... [read more]

Customers looking to implement Enterprise 2.0 technologies can select among a broad variety of competing solutions in the marketplace. In particular, enterprises can choose between standalone social tools (blogs, wikis, forums), or broader, platform-centric offerings. Standalone tools typically offer best-of-breed features and more rapid implementations, but can also lead to disconnected "islands of participation". Alternatively, platform-oriented tools can offer a common foundation for social applications and integrate them with more formal, line-of-business systems -- or increasingly unified communications and mobility platforms -- for greater ability to support collaboration in context. However, these major platforms can beget greater cost and complexity, as well as vendor lock-in.

Regardless of platform, nearly all enterprises have to deal with complex challenges around integration, performance, security, compliance, upgrade cycles, and support. Although many of these tools are young, some key lessons are emerging among enterprise adopters. This track will discuss the current state-of-art in social and collaborative applications, along with analysis of the market trends shaping next generation platforms. Join us to learn from actual practitioners and leading industry experts.