Yammer - What You Need to Know

My boss walked in and just started laughing.

Not a condescending laugh, but a contagious chuckle at my expense.

In a company of 5000 people, I had emailed all of them in search of a team or individual that had handled a similar challenge as the one I was facing at a large retailer. 

It was out of frustration that I launched the missive pleading for help on an initiative I knew had been done before by scores of our consultants.  But the crowd’s reaction was swift and negative.

After calculating that I wasted at 500 hours of our employees’ time, she course corrected me by giving me the names of three people whom she thought could help track down the information I was seeking. 

But it still took me two days to find the team that had the answers.  Two days I could have spent on site with my client.  There had to be a better way. 

There is a better way

Steve Apfelberg of Yammer believes their 100% focus on real time, searchable communication will make us more productive.  I tend to agree. 

Yammer provides a more practical method to enterprise-wide communication versus the mass “boil the ocean” email approach that in the past have failed.  Especially in large organizations where information silos exist. 

Even if I had been emailed back the information by a sympathetic coworker, that information is not searchable by anyone but me.  So the next person that has the same issue, will need to duplicate my effort to get the same answer. 

And that’s not working for anyone. 

Yammer at a glance

 

What value does Yammer provide?

Think of Yammer as the communication circulatory system of the enterprise.  Except this system extends beyond a single body or location (insert Matrix or Borg reference).  In fact it can securely extend to partners and customers with Yammer Communities.

Better, employees using a Yammer communication network can tune in to the information they are most interested in.  Like Twitter, users can add a hashtag before a search term to see a more narrow activity stream of relevant information.   

Then, Yammer makes it easy to create a custom set of radio stations tuned to exactly the information you want to see. Oh and they’re archived and searchable too.  Metcalf’s law applies here, but the benefits of a widely used, filtered corporate communication system are numerous.  I’ll list a few:

• Salespeople can tune into customer opportunities, feedback or complaints and take immediate action.
• Since the activity streams of all employees are saved, searching and mining information can help unlock information silos.  
• Use Yammer as an extended R&D tool especially around a project with a short duration.  Capture information from employees, customers and suppliers prior to investing in a creating a new product
• Expert search: Just ask the community.
• Customer support: set up a secure connection with your best customers and allow them to directly interact with your support staff.
• Employee engagement: I’ve used the term psychological currency to describe the impact that tools like Yammer have on the psyche of the individual.  In short, everyone can be important and get rewarded for contributing.  The effect leads to even more discovery and sharing which equals greater corporate value.

There are many other use cases that Luis Suarez has put together that you can review.  The point is that Yammer is one of the easiest Enterprise 2.0 solutions to justify in most companies.  It’s a simple solution with a high return in value. But it needs to go much further. 

The future benefits of Yammer

According to Apfelberg, Yammer’s mission is to become an organization’s primary communications platform.  They plan to do it by slowly replacing email and instant messenger over time.  They also plan to provide communication connectors to all of your enterprise systems. 

Apfelberg claims the company is exploring vertical applications for specific departments like Yammer for Sales, Marketing and Finance.  Focused solutions to address the specific needs of each department.  Smart idea, but hard to execute on more than a couple.  Expect Yammer to partner with OEM’s or VAR’s to help bring some of them to market. 

I’d also expect Yammer to tie into ERP and CRM systems in order to create alerts and reports for those responsible.  For example, if a customer is 90 days delinquent on paying a large invoice, the ERP system will start a Yammer thread to which the right people can act on it.  I see a lot of high value application in this area. 

According to Apfelberg, SharePoint 2007 integration is just a few short weeks away, while SharePoint 2010 integration is around the corner.  Smart move, as the SharePoint customer base is large and ready for an application that drives adoption.  I suspect Yammer also has intentions of cozying up to Microsoft for a potential exit option. 

With all of that content being created by thousands of employees, Yammer will need to provide much more powerful reports and dashboards to effectively mine the data and capitalize on it.  Outlook 2010 will be doing this with email, but Yammer has a higher value play here because the data can be made public.  Outlook 2010 will be reporting on anonymous data.   

What decision makers need to know

Expect to have a solid business case before recommending an organization use Yammer. I’ve listed some above, but find the pain points in your organization and tailor the messaging. 

It’s critical that you define the business goals for your micro-blogging initiative and how it will be measured.  Try using productivity metrics around reducing email usage or how many questions have been answered in a prescribed period of time.

Since Yammer operates on a Freemium model, try it out for free with a large team.  Remember however Metcalf’s law and that you’ll see real value once the network increases in size.  This is important to note as you set internal expectations. 

In Summary  

As Yammer continues to enhance the discipline of solving real business problems by providing a rich conversation layer to your mission critical data,  using their solution will help place you ahead of the curve and make you more competitive. 

Remember though that introducing any new solution puts you at risk.  Read my past articles on Enterprise 2.0 adoption or visit the Adoption 2.0 Council (now part of Dachis) for further implementation strategies.  

Yammer may or may not be the best E2.0 solution to try now.  Maybe it’s Spigit or MindTouch.  Only you know.  

But whatever you do - don’t sit on your hands. The do nothing strategy leads to nothing. 

Mr. CIO Check your Premises

When a new CIO steps into office he is given three envelopes in the event he runs into trouble. Inside the 1st envelope a note reads “play it safe”. If that doesn’t work than he opens the 2nd envelope which reads “blame the business unit”.  If neither works than he opens up the 3rd envelope which reads "prepare 3 envelopes".

We all have certain preconceptions we bring with us into a new company or project.  Maybe it’s that most people are resistant to change, or that there’s only one way to solve a problem, or that it’s impossible to introduce new technology solutions in a large company.  These conclusions shape the mind of many executives in corporations around the world. 

It’s a common argument formula and it looks like this:

Since change is difficult, and new initiatives are change, it follows that new initiatives are difficult to execute.

In larger companies another element is added to the formula and looks like this:

I am being paid a lot of money, do I really want to risk my career on a new initiative?

The premises in the original formula appear to be sound which leads to a logical conclusion that new initiatives are difficult to execute.  The trouble is that this type of short term thinking is causing IT to be less and less relevant.  It’s not proactive, it’s status quo. 

If you can’t get to where you’re going go someplace else

Status quo is safe.  Executives swear by it.  I’ve seen many of them fall into its gravitational pull.  Launching something out of it is difficult.  

That’s why when you’re introducing a new initiative into the organization especially when it involves the terms “social” or “Enterprise 2.0” or even “innovation” you get resistance. 

Like when you first presented your Enterprise 2.0 vision and the CIO gave you a glance like the visual equivalent of the words “are you insane?”

His response to your presentation was, “there's a fine line between a vision and a hallucination.”

That’s when you decided to go to the VP of Sales to pilot the initiative.  He was a risk taker, a rising star, someone who couldn’t afford to stand still.  Sales velocity was slipping and he was open to trying a new solution. A solution that directly connects customers to his sales team and the rest of the company. 

Strategy is 90% theoretical, while the other half is experience

The VP of Sales argument went something like this:

Companies purchase our solution to solve their problems, a lot of companies have the same problems, therefore finding new companies with similar problems will lead to increased purchases. 

His premises and conclusion are also sound.  Yet he concluded to move forward with your initiative.  Which begs the question, how did the CIO and VP of Sales end up with entirely different conclusions considering they are in the same company?

It’s easy to observe that they are approaching the initiative differently.  While their arguments both make sense, their experiences and circumstances lead to different conclusions. Multiply it across the enterprise, and it leads to conflict, confusion and chaos.  

Hence strategy becomes contextual to an individual’s past and current experience and the tug of war between different departments produces little output. 

Is the squeeze worth the juice?

So it’s up to you to decide whether to work with the VP of Sales or not.  While not acting appears to be safe, it’s not going to advance your career and it’s not going to help the VP of Sales.

On the other hand, acting is fraught with danger.  The CIO may sabotage you, your peers may ostracize you, the project might fail, and your children may starve (ok probably not the last one).

The best approach is to check the premises of all parties involved (including your own).  Can each parties’ arguments being aligned to the corporate strategy?

Can you alleviate the CIO’s concerns by piloting the solution with a receptive business unit?  Can you take sole responsibility for the success or failure of the initiative? Can you create and lead a change management plan? 

Will the VP of Sales give you the proper support to be successful? If it fails, will he provide cover?

If you find alignment of interests with the parties involved then proceed.

If you can’t and still proceed, prepare three envelopes.    

P.S. Thank you Yogi Berra for inspiring the sub-headings

The 14 Key Events that led to a Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) Revolution

The last quartile of the 20th century was marked by a rise in software development by companies, individuals and hobbyist groups.    Key among software development methodologies was a controversial yet innovative idea about giving away your software code for others to use and improve upon it.  

Those new to the free and open source community may not appreciate how radical and dangerous the idea of giving away your source code for free was for people.  Those that did subscribe to the ideology sacrificed tremendous profits and fame yet helped create what we now call FOSS today. 

A business model that has helped lower the cost of ownership of software and has given us the ability to inexpensively deploy cloud solutions today (via an open source stack).  

So what were the origins of FOSS?  How did the revolution begin? 

Let’s take a look:

The FOSS Revolution

On our Research and FOSS History

We noticed how often early FOSS pioneers used revolutionary themes and language to describe the battle with proprietary software vendors and IT departments.  Therefore we thought the revolutionary theme appropriate. 

We know and understand that there are huge bodies of FOSS history that we have missed.  But we tried to cover the primary highlights and educate our readers at the same time.  It’s a great story and one we enjoyed putting together.  

 

P.S. Who do you believe is the Benedict Arnold of Free and Open Source? Please give us your comments below. 

The 10 Best, Must Have iPad Apps for Business

 

The iPad’s digital coattails are long and there are no shortage of people riding them.  The most persistent appear to be rotating around its axis as if trying to acquire a suntan by means of the occasional ray.  Their status being elevated by merely being in proximity to one.

Is it all hype? Or does Apple have another big winner on its hands?  Judging by my friends’ responses, version one is a fantastic first try, but wait for version 2 (here’s another perspective by David Winer).

But if you already have one or are getting one,  then start with these apps for business. 

The Judging Criteria

Below are all iPad apps that were made for the iPad (not simply an iPhone port).  They were also highly rated by the community and/or suggested by Steve Bjorg and others when a request was made via Twitter. 

#1 Autodesk SketchBook Pro

Autodesk SketchBook® Pro for iPad is a professional-grade paint and drawing application. Using the same paint engine as its desktop counterpart, SketchBook Pro delivers a complete set of sketching & painting tools through a streamlined and intuitive user interface designed exclusively for the iPad experience. 
Who is this for? The occasional designer or professional illustrator

 

#2 Square - Accept payments. Everywhere.

Quickly and securely accept payments for your business, service, charity, or even your couch. Generate email and SMS receipts for cash and card payments, maintain frequently sold items, calculate sales tax, and effortlessly manage and visualize all the money you take with an intuitive web-based interface.

Who is this for? Mobile businesses or those retail establishments that want to check their customer’s out in the shopping aisle.

#3 Evernote 

Evernote turns the iPad into an extension of your brain, helping you remember anything and everything that happens in your life. From notes to ideas to snapshots to recordings, put it all into Evernote and watch as it instantly synchronizes from your iPhone to your Mac or Windows desktop.

Who is this for? The multi-tasker, project manager, or lifestreamer. 

 

#4 Numbers

Numbers is a very innovative spreadsheet app designed for mobile computing. It’s the application you know and love for the Mac, completely reworked from the ground up for iPad. Tap the bright Multi-Touch display to create compelling, great-looking spreadsheets in minutes. 250 easy-to-use functions, an intelligent keyboard, flexible tables, and eye-catching charts, are at your fingertips. Caution: no Excel exporting yet

Who is this for?  The numerati on the go

 

#5 Keynote

Keynote is a powerful presentation app designed for a mobile device. It’s the application you know and love on the Mac, but completely reworked from the ground up for iPad. It makes creating a world-class presentation, complete with animated charts and transitions, as simple as touching and tapping. Caution: Read the comments before downloading

Who is this for? Presenters, speakers and sales people

 

#6 OmniGraphSketcher

Use OmniGraphSketcher for iPad to make elegant and precise graphs in seconds, whether you have specific data to report or a concept to explain.

Who is this for? Most employees need a graphing tool

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#7 iBooks

iBooks is an amazing way to download and read books, designed exclusively for iPad. iBooks includes the iBookstore, where you can download the latest best-selling books or your favorite classics – day or night. Browse your library on a beautiful bookshelf, tap a book to open it, flip through pages with a swipe or a tap, and bookmark your favorite passages.

Who is this for? All employees

 

#8 Webex for iPad

Attend WebEx meetings on your iPad, wherever you are. Use this application to get the full meeting experience with simultaneous data and audio. Don’t just listen in to a meeting. Join in.

Who is this for? Webinar attendees and those hosting webinars

#9 Outlook Web Access 2003 for iPad

Not rated yet

Connect to any implementation of Outlook Web Access 2003 with this custom-built application. If both of the following are true, this is the application for you:
✔ You connect to Outlook Web Access 2003 using a web browser to view and send e-mails
✔ IMAP, POP3, and SMTP are disabled in Microsoft Exchange
The Microsoft Exchange functionality built in to the iPhone or iPod

Who is this for? Anyone with Microsoft Outlook 2003

 

#10 Citrix Receiver for iPad

The new Citrix Receiver for iPad app makes it easy for iPad owners to take their virtual office with them on the go. One simple touch gives iPad owners secure access to all of their corporate Windows applications and desktops, making it easy to work from anywhere, while still enjoying the great user experience they bought an iPad for in the first place. Caution: Citrix XenApp or XenDesktop infrastructure required for production use.

Who is it for? Telecommuters, traveling salespeople and virtual employees

 

Did I miss any useful Enterprise or Business apps developed for the iPad?  If so please share in the comments below. 

Separated from Your Parade

You’ve seen it all in your career, your certain of it.  It’s not often that you’re surprised by events or actions taken by Executives or Boards of Directors.  Certainly not when you’ve always been a top performer.  But there’s always those outliers. 

Outliers like when you accepted a new job at a new company.  A huge promotion in theory.   But the new company had new rules with new views on business.  Rules like shipping hazardous products, selling vaporware to Wall Street and blaming your under-paid, under resourced employees for not meeting the number.  Ring any bells?

It usually doesn't. 

So when you started and held your first team meeting, you were shocked to hear all of your direct reports bemoan your changes.  Changes they asked for.  You thought: “what is wrong with these people?  I am giving them what they want.”

“Oh, sir” a skeptical voice cried out, “Look here.”  By the sound of her voice you imagined the worst. The corporate equivalent to a whiny 4 year old complaining about the meal you’ve just served up. Bad news. A skeptician possibly.  But you never imagined this.

“Things don’t change here” she said. “I’m not doing anything new ‘cuz every time I do the boss gets fired and I have to start all over again.  Our last boss lasted one day” 

“One day?”, you blurt incredulously. “How many managers have been in my position in the last 2 years?”

“I lost count, but I remember four of them”, she said. 

Your due diligence on the company never revealed this hidden fact.  In fact you heard a series of stories about former employees that had abused the authority granted to them by the executive team.  Losers, leeches and louses.  You felt sorry for the company. Genuine compassion!

Alas, all’s not well that starts well. 

You remember thinking, “Let’s try to keep an open mind.”  So you did. But even you must have known what a longshot this was. 

It did start well.  They were throwing virtual parades in your honor.  Building shrines to your ideas and welcoming your delicate management style. 

But then…

You don’t have any specific memories of the end and context eludes you. But the grumblings started in month four.  First it was a Board Member who didn’t like one of your slides.  A mouse and cheese reference that worked on paper but offended the Board Member.  “He took personal offence”, you learned later, “to your use of cheese and rodent to explain the concept of enticing the channel to sell our products.”

Then it came from the CEO in a review meeting.  A schizophrenic character and a case study on the rather fraught nature of Freud’s structural model of the psyche.  His review of your first 180 days was marked by one’s and fives.  Nothing in between.  Comments such as, “this young man has delusions of adequacy” were matched with, “you are the smartest person I’ve ever met”. 

“Odd”, you thought, “but okay, I can learn from this.”

By the end of the meeting the CEO laughed which made you laugh.  He closed with, “I know I should have brought some of these items to your attention sooner, but I figured I’d let you get your feet wet first.”

“Seriously though, I want you to run this place when I retire.  I need to find my replacement and I think you’re the right fit”, he said. “What do you think?  Are you up for it?”

He watched closely for your response.  An engaging gaze that studied your face for any clues of defiance.  You tell him how honored you are and that you will not disappoint him. 

“One more thing though before you go”, he said almost absentmindedly, “I want you to apologize to your team for pushing them too hard.  They think you’re using them to make yourself look good.  They think you’re after my job. Silly huh?” 

You try to hide the confused look on your face but you’re sure it appeared.  Subconsciously probably.  “Well, okay”, you say, “I’ll make arrangements.”

“No really”, the CEO quipped, “I want a progress report.  Let me know weekly to whom and how you apologized.” 

You agree to the bizarre terms and return to being productive.  Productive but apologetic. Meetings within meetings that started out with a request for your team to do things more efficiently followed by an apology for doing your job. 

Thirty days later after the last apology was made and the last report was given to the CEO, you’re employment was promptly terminated.

A short explanation was given. Something along the lines of causing a stressful work environment.  A lawsuit waiting to happen.  You see your stretch goals and tasks were creating longer work hours.  And who wants to work harder? 

Does your team work longer than 7 hours a day?  You’re probably a bully. 

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Technorati Tags: art of the enterprise

The Best Google Wave Gadgets, Extensions and Robots for the Enterprise

In large part Google Wave has been ignored by the enterprise due to many factors (I’ve listed them below).  As you’ve probably read, Wave started as a huge splash but has been reduced to a ripple as of late due to the lack of a “killer app”.

Yet there are some enterprise-worthy applications for Wave that merit checking out.  Also, there is a new, noteworthy app for Wave on the horizon that is due to be launched at Google I/O this year (disclosure: I am an investor).

There’s no there – there

For some reason, Wave hasn’t attracted the types of apps that really leverage the power of Wave.  Wave is being treated like a consumer application when it’s actually an SMB or Enterprise level tool.  Out of the 300 gadgets, extensions and robots I looked at, only a handful passed the enterprise sniff test.  None are yet ‘killer apps’ or ‘must haves’. 

The Google Wave Enterprise Field Guide

Gadget/ Extension	Enterprise Rating (1-5)*	In 8 words or less	Even Better if…
Conference Bot	3	Waves for conference attendees	It published back to conference site session information
Edit Google Docs	3	Edit & Share Google Docs in Wave	It had a better interface with Docs
MindWave	3	MindMapping and Brainstorming in Wave	It had Auto-Suggest
6 Rounds	3.5	Video chat collaboration	It had powerful whiteboarding capabilities
Novell Pulse	3.5	Pulse and Wave collaboration across platforms	It worked entirely in Wave
Checky	1.5	Very simple task manager and check off	Needs to leverage collaboration capabilities of Wave
WavePlan	2	coordinate multi-participant schedules and make decisions	It linked with Google Calendar
Scrummy	2.5	A task organizer for collaborative projects	Needs user reports and dashboards
Chart Gadget	2	lets you easily embed charts and diagrams into Wave	It integrated with Google Docs Spreadsheet
Charty	2.5	Form Driven interactive charts	It integrated with Google Docs Spreadsheet
Poll Gadget	3.5	Attractive polling with charting	Use as a info gathering tool like survey monkey
UnaWave	4.5	Secret	Secret**
* rating pertains to enterprise worthiness only.  Not quality of app.			**Debut at Google I/O in May 2010

What Google Needs to Do

From my perspective, there isn’t a developer taking advantage of Wave’s powerful collaboration features, DVR capabilities, or extending Wave into external sites.  They’re doing it at the superficial level, but not at the level they could.  It’s like driving a Ferrari in first gear. 

Google seems to be courting SMB and Enterprise developers as they realize the advantages Wave has on business.  Yet they need to do more.  They need to build Google Wave Extensions into the Google App store to allow monetization options for developers.  They also need to provide users a better experience when trying to identify robots, extensions or gadgets to help them solve business problems.  Currently, it’s too difficult. 

What the Enterprise Needs to know

You’re not missing much yet on Wave.  I do believe Wave will replace a lot of the email functionality and project management applications in the future.  Still, for several reasons, developers haven’t flocked to Wave yet.  As Google figures out how to develop applications for the Enterprise & SMB, Wave will become a much more important part of the Google arsenal. 

For now, try some of the 3.5 or higher rated Google Wave Apps above, then be ready as Wave integrates with Buzz and Gmail in the future.  You still have some time, but try not to read too much into the pundits that are understating the potential of Wave.  

P.S. If you’re looking for a potential killer application for Wave, follow Unawave for more details.

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Technorati Tags: unawave,google wave,strategy,applications,robots,extensions,gadgets

The Must Read Enterprise 2.0 Articles – A Guide

Whenever there are a series of thought provoking articles on Enterprise 2.0 – those that actually teach you something, I like to share them with you.  March saw a series of valuable Enterprise 2.0 articles and whitepapers.  Here they are: 

 <Click to enlarge>

The list of articles with links

Article	Author
Enterprise 2.0 Boston Bait and Switch	@MarkTamis
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Enterprise 2.0 ROI	Hutch Carpenter @bhc3
Matrix: Evolution of Social Media Integration and Corporate Websites	Jeremiah Owyang
What’s Needed First? Culture Change or Enterprise 2.0 Adoption	Dan Pontefract
The Two-Year Lag from Web 2.0 to Enterprise 2.0	Hutch Carpenter @bhc3
The Impact of Collaboration on Enterprise Business Performance	Jacob Morgan
Five key characteristics of great pilot team members	Ross Dawson
Enterprise 2.0: let's be careful out there	Dennis Howlett
5 Ways to Use Google Wave for Business	Sharlyn Lauby
The IT failures blame game (part 1)	Michael Krigsman
The IT failures blame game (part 2)	Michael Krigsman
Enterprise 2.0 - Ten Insights into the status of the implementation (as of Q1/2010) (in German)	Martina Gohring Joachim Niemeier Milo Vujnovic
How Enterprise 2.0 Sales Teams Will Use Social Networks	Len Rosen
E2.0 evangelists : the Revolutionaries and the Evolutionaries	Cecil Dijoux
Leading and Managing in the Networked Knowledge Workplace	Jon Husband
Slash and Burn: Productivity and Enterprise 2.0	Sameer Patel

Noteworthy Tweet Award

 A reminder that we’ve posted the 2010 Enterprise 2.0 Blogger All Stars here.  They are a great group to follow as well.   

As always, let me know if I’ve missed an article for March.  Suggestions? Please share in the comments below.

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Technorati Tags: enterprise 2.0,guide,articles