Social business moves front and center
As our global network of people becomes more instrumented, interconnected and intelligent, dramatic shifts are taking place. The ways in which people interact, relationships form, decisions are made, work is accomplished and goods are purchased are fundamentally changing.
Consumers now wield unprecedented power over how brands are perceived and purchases are made. Crowdsourcing is changing industry landscapes by leveling the intelligence playing field at an extraordinary rate. In addition, employees are demanding social tools in the workplace, and are actively sidestepping established hierarchies and IT processes to use them. As a result, the world finds itself at a transformative point with regard to how business is done. We believe it is the dawn of a new era―the era of the social business.
Just as the advent of e-business changed business forever, ten years later organizations find themselves at another junction point in the evolution of business: the coming of age for social business as social computing and social media are integrated into enterprise design.
Not when… but how to do social business
The data is clear: social business propels results. Fifty seven percent of companies who invest in social business outperform their peers. They see real business value, whether it's a 25% increase in business or a 20% drop in the time it takes to manage projects. 1
Social business is no longer "nice to do," it's a necessity to survive today's volatile business climate. According to Forrester Research, spending on social business software is expected to grow at a rate of 61 percent through 2016, a year in which the market for these products will reach $6.4 billion, compared with $600 million last year.2
So what does a social business look like?
A social business isn't just a company that has a Facebook page and a Twitter handle. A social business is one that embraces and cultivates a spirit of collaboration and community throughout its organization—both internally and externally.
IBM has identified three distinct characteristics of a social business:
- Engaged—deeply connecting people, including customers, employees, and partners, to be involved in productive, efficient ways.
- Transparent—removing boundaries to information, experts and assets, helping people align every action to drive business results.
- Nimble—speeding up business with information and insight to anticipate and address evolving opportunities.
Conversations with Industry Innovators – listen to a lively discussion about social business with leading thinkers from IBM, Forrester and MIT.
60 second snapshots of real Social Businesses at work
See more videos about people and practices in the IBM social business video library.
Red Funnel
UK ferry operator Red Funnel uses social networks to update passengers on travel status.
Galaxy Zoo and NASA
250,000 volunteers helped classify the shape of hundreds of thousands of galaxies captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Ushahidi and the earthquake in Haiti
An open source mobile participation platform was used to assist with crisis management after the earthquake in Haiti.
Cars.com
The automotive information Web site harnesses the power of social to help the wisdom of crowds drive purchases.
Many Eyes
This community helps develop and refine ideas, all based on the premise that many sets of eyes are better than one.
Social Business is about moving beyond the social media tools you're currently familiar with to unlock the potential of the people and gain a competitive advantage. Today, by combining social networking tools—internally and externally—with sophisticated analytic capabilities, companies are transforming their business processes, building stronger relationships among their employees, customers and business partners and making better decisions, faster. This is what makes a social business—embracing networks of people to create new business value and opportunities.
1. IBM. "Social business: the advent of a new age" 2011.
2. "Social Enterprise Apps Redefine Collaboration," Forrester Research, Inc., November 30, 2011.