Chapter 13 13-1 © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

Enabling Collaboration with IT

Chapter 13

13-1© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Collaboration and IT

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Virtual interaction is becoming the rule of today’s workplace.

Today, a large percentage of employees accomplish their daily work done through collaboration technology (e.g., e-mail, instant messaging, video conferencing, Twitter, Facebook).


Collaboration and IT Continued

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Business and IT managers struggle to quantify the real value of collaboration.

Collaborative software represents one-fifth of most organizations’ technology budgets, but business leaders are still uncertain of its business value.


Why Collaborate?

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Why Collaborate? Continued

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Top-line value

The collaboration across an organization and with customers, suppliers, and other third parties, that will strengthen the ability to identify new business opportunities.



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Cost savings

Collaborative technology facilitates the work of global and virtual teams by compressing work flows, reducing development costs, increasing communication and improving coordination.



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Effectiveness

Collaborative technology is useful in integrating remote and mobile workers seamlessly into a team.

It enables them to more effectively juggle a variety of commitments.



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Accessibility of people

Collaborative technology facilitates the access to a broader range of skills, capabilities, resources and services.



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Accessibility of information

Collaboration and its associated technology makes information much more accessible than before (e.g., information repositories).



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Flexibility

Flatter, more networked, and collaborative structures create a leadership environment that facilitates timely decision making and fluid workforces.


The Range and Scope of Collaboration

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Who is Collaborating?

What are they Collaborating on?

How are they Collaborating?

Where are they Collaborating?

COMPLEXITY

Individuals

Internal Teams

Communities of Interest

Organizations

Customers and others

Transactions

Routine Activities

Ad hoc, un-structured initiatives

Innovation

Dynamic, real timestrategies

On-site

Virtual

Mobile

Global

Electronic communication

Electronic conferencing

Electronic content creation & management

Electronic management


Components of Successful Collaboration

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The Role of IT in Collaboration

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Communication

-- Collaborative technology (i.e., from voice

mail to video) enables communication. -- A single technology spectrum should

support communication rather than separate components.

-- Communication technology should be ubiquitous, reliable, secure, and

integrated.


The Role of IT in Collaboration Continued

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Information access and management

-- An improved information processing capability includes accurate and

visible information, manipulability, exchangeability and ease of information transfer. -- An optimal number of databases, data

management platforms, and intranets support this access.



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Security and risk

-- IT function should ensure the balance between the openness required by collaboration and the risks involved.

-- Security must become more granular and principles based (i.e., developing policy on how to use social networking).



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Technology integration

-- The more IT can achieve integration of data, applications, hardware,

and software, the easier it will be to provide the information and tools needed to facilitate collaboration.


First Steps for Facilitating Effective Collaboration

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1. Develop a coherent vision

2. Plan for adaptation

3. Start with specific fundamentals

4. Establish principles of behavior

5. Gradually move beyond the firewall


First Steps for Facilitating Effective Collaboration Continued

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1. Develop a coherent vision

-- Includes what the business wants to accomplish with collaboration and

what types of technology would best support it.

-- Includes a unified strategy and business models, tools and experiments.



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2. Plan for adaptation

-- IT function needs to develop the “flexing skills” to cope with dynamic collaboration.-- The management of collaboration needs to be multidisciplinary and responsive to

change.



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3. Start with specific fundamentals

-- The start point for collaboration often lies in two specific fundamentals, information management and access. The organization should assess the existing gaps that hinder these fundamentals (e.g., office spaces).



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4. Establish principles of behavior

-- Includes the development of a code of conduct to govern electronic

communication and collaboration (e.g., policies and practices to

achieve an effective work-life balance).



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5. Gradually move beyond the firewall

-- Includes the identification of what information can and cannot be shared outside the organization’s boundaries.


Conclusions

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Collaboration is a complex concept with uncertain benefits and requires major organizational changes.

Effective collaboration does not depend solely on implementing more collaborative software, but it requires a proactive and holistic strategy that integrates business goals and technology potential.

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 13-24

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Chapter 13 13-1 © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

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