The Workplace Blog

It was only a matter of time before IBM and Yahoo entered the corporate search market. What’s surprising is that they decided to do so together. Recognizing that employees depend upon the web to find information as much as their own intranets, IBM has partnered with Yahoo. IBM’s Omnifind search solution will present the results in a single consolidated user interface. And like Google, they also have a starter free version of the software.

Increasingly, companies are realizing that the lines between their intranet and the wider web are blurring. The more an intranet can integrate the web and connect with it, the better it is. Employees want to find information and they care less about the source whether it is their own intranet or a trusted external web source. Companies that tried to bring the web to intranets via weather and news portlets are realizing that its best to let employees choose their own sources of information.

It’s a good sign when IT departments communicate with their business customers and the wider world. Business people learn about the challenges and pressures facing the IT departments. Intel has taken the lead in this effort with their recently launched IT@Intel blog. Are your business units and the IT departments talking to each other? If not, a blog like the Intel one may help.

Be sure to read the post on reversing the 80/20 rule for IT investments. They talk about HP’s efforts to reverse the basic 80/20 rule where 80% of the IT investments go in keeping the business running while only 20% goes towards new capabilities.

First there were blogs. Then along came podcasts. Now prepare yourself for vlogs. Although these trends are still in their infancy in the enterprise context (and arguably also in the consumer context), we think they are important to consider.

For example, consider vlogs in a training context. At least once a week, I give colleagues and friends demos of interesting new technologies. Imagine harnessing these demos - informal training sessions - within the enterprise. Is there an easier or more efficient way to perform an administrative task? Turn on a capturing program like Camtasia and record the task. For some things, this is a lot more efficient, effective, and inexpensive than creating documents with screen captures and step by step instructions.

Beyond the training context, simple news reportage is a fun and engaging way to distribute information within the enterprise. Whether you’re leveraging external vlogs or creating your own, the explosion of television in the 20th century has told us something about the power of the moving image.

For a deeper dive into the subject and example vlogs, check out Wikipedia Entry on Vlogs, Technorati’s Buzz TV, Rocketboom, and Diggnation.

Check back here next week for our very first vcast about Enterprise Trends in 2007. In the meantime, let us what you think about online video!