The Synthesis

2013

Over the course of my career I have had the opportunity to experience and work with a wide number of different approaches to IT-driven innovation in the enterprise. Each new wave brought with it a richer understanding of the enterprise.

The process dimension was perhaps the first that required a substantial revision in one’s view of the enterprise, requiring interventions on multiple facets and levels. When Knowledge Management and Collaboration related developments came about, businesses became aware of and appreciated their social side. Successful interventions necessarily had to go beyond just implementing technology, and incorporate people in the transformation equation.

In my opinion the era of social business re-design began with these developments about 15 years ago.

However, recent developments in technologies, have added several critical dimensions to the social architecture of the enterprise enabling a wider range of possible structures that can be leveraged, taking enterprise sociality to a new level. The social dimensions of the enterprise are once again in the forefront of business consciousness.

As is often the case, a confluence of developments in several domains, creates a tidal wave, and we are now in the midst of one. Opportunities are emerging on several fronts every day in the demand, supply and design chains as well as within other aspects of the enterprise. The realization that there is significant value to be realized through these interventions, is one reason this driver of enterprise transformation is here to stay. Successful enterprises will leverage this opportunity to create new business models, innovate services, and come substantially closer to realizing a long-held aspiration to become resilient and agile.

And while the promise is indeed real, social interventions are also the most challenging to execute. Unlike the other initiatives they demand a new set of operational disciplines and understanding, which perhaps even those involved with social change in the enterprise would not claim to have mastered as a science. Such challenges could easily create discomfort and a loss of interest among many business leaders.

However, we might have reached a juncture in enterprise development, where we have no choice but to explore this frontier or suffer competitively. Enterprise Social Innovation is indeed the next frontier for innovation and creating significant value, and those who master the new discipline will be well positioned to capitalize on the next inevitable wave of IT-driven innovation.