There are too many conversation going on right now about Facebook, LinkedIn and the state of enterprise software... some starting points:
- Tom Davenport argues why Facebook and MySpace won't change the workplace (and why LinkedIn isn't a social network);
- Stephen Collins throws in his two cents worth on why enterprise software should be sexy;
- LinkedIn launches a new beta interface, Anne Zelenka on GigaOM explains why "LinkedIn isn’t moving forward aggressively enough to unlock the value of their data and services".
This is just the tip of the iceberg, but the connection here is the question should Web 2.0 replace enterprise software or do we just use it raise the bar of what is expected?
Technorati tags: Facebook, LinkedIn, Web 2.0, Enterprise Web 2.0, enterprise software, Tom Davenport, Stephen Collins, GigaOM
James, I think that in your last sentence you've totally nailed it. The good, and otherwise very functional (where they don't meet some accepted definition of good) designs we're seeing in the Web 2.0 space should absolutely be the line in the sand for the next generation of interfaces on which our enterprise tools operate. They should totally raise the bar.
ReplyDeleteTake Google Personalised Home Page as an example. It's not full of whizz-bangery, but it's extremely functional. I can absolutely use it to create a dashboard - very enterprise that - for my life that I can reconfigure at a moment's notice. I see no reason why this sort of functionality couldn't be the interface for HR tools, CRM, supply chain, mail, intranet, knowledge base or any other behind the wall tool.
There's no longer any justification for the big vendors to pump out bad interfaces on top of potentially powerful functionality. Just because it's been this way doesn't mean it has to stay this way.
I'd love to get in a conversation with some of these vendors and talk to them about social design. I think we could make beautiful software together. Brains and beauty!