October 21, 2009

We live in the version 2.0 era. We have seen the rise of Web 2.0 technologies using Enterprise 2.0 tools. More recently you read and hear talks about Capitalism 2.0, Health 2.0 etc. Now, let’s pause for a moment and think what really constitutes a shift to 2.0 and what is the real driver here? The answer is common and universal – Collaboration

Today, its ‘e’ everything. The ease to access information on demand collaboratively becomes the driving need for individuals and organizations to take the right decisions rapidly. I strongly believe that in order to survive and grow, all businesses need to co-exist in a collaborative ecosystem that will hopefully put an end to the traditional approach to competition and vendor warfare. A ground level understanding of collaboration benefits will in turn work itself up the value chain and have significant impact that create a new generation of habits and social interactions that build better societies and a more effective management of natural resources.
I definitely don’t think collaboration is new to any of us. The need to collaborate has co-existed with the evolution of mankind. Today, it has become a vital ingredient redefining many aspects of our life and people across boundaries have come to realize the need to collaborate to solve complex problems through shared information.

I can probably put together a never ending list of the benefits of collaboration but some that stand out for its sheer potential are – Generates wiser quicker decisions, produces more durable decisions, fosters action, promotes change, builds social capital, fosters collective ownership of resources, opportunities and problems and ushers in fundamental changes in society

Smart companies have realized the need to bring down the fences and unleash an era of collaboration. Suppliers, employees, vendors and customers are expected to share their long term vision, risks and rewards. That to me, is true collaboration. Being the head of Visions@work, I can say without an iota of doubt that Collaboration strategies will be the ‘legs’ to our technology solutions set and define almost everything that we do as an organization.

The message is clear to all of us – If innovation has to drive our growth, we need to shed our inhibitions, empower and enable a collaborative environment for all to participate and create value.

It truly is our new found “love”