Which Has More Integration Potential - Twitter or OCS?
Filed under: Instant Messaging (IM), OCS 2007, Unified Communications
A couple weeks ago, Tony Byrne posted on Unified Communications at CMSWatch.com’’s TrendWatch blog. He talked about a panel at the Interop 2009 Conference, where they discussed connections between social computing and Unified Communications.
In his post, Tony made a really interesting point I”d like to talk about. He said:
“The major UC vendors have done a better job of integrating with incumbent line-of-business applications than social software vendors, who could learn a thing or two about socializing existing applications rather than creating new silos of social or collaborative information.
“And integration potential is where, I think, Instant Messaging (IM) still has a leg up over micro-blogging (a.k.a., social messaging) within the enterprise. ”
(Just in case you haven”t heard the term, “micro-blogging” usually refers to the short message format used on Twitter, FaceBook Messaging, FriendFeed, and so on.)
To me, this signifies a huge advantage to future business communication. Companies (especially larger ones) have a slew of communication options available to them. And what do you have with multiple options?
You have competition.
With all the similarities between social media platforms and Unified Communications-related software, both will have to present a case for why businesses should use them as a communications medium.
In a way, this competition is restricted to those two. This is because Instant Messaging and Social Media have the same perception in many business circles - “That’’s for consumers. We can”t/shouldn”t use those.”
IM has partially passed this roadblock, thanks to larger companies bringing IM into a secure business context (like OCS - I”m not biased, honest!). Social Media is facing it head-on right now. I”m sure it will achieve integration in some form or another eventually.
However, that form is not clear yet. There are too many choices. Some people use LinkedIn.com for prospecting and communication. Some use Facebook to keep in touch with personal and business contacts. Twitter’’s used to advise customers and poll potential markets. Combinations of the above. Other services–AGH!
IM, on the other hand, has three basic choices.
a. Public IM networks like AIM, Yahoo!, MSN
b. Business IM applications like OCS 2007′’s IM capability
c. Internal IM systems in enterprise networks (Jabber is often used for these)
A, while a popular option, presents a security risk since it’’s public. C is very secure, but it takes a lot of time to set up. B therefore occupies a nice middle ground. (Okay, I admit a slight bias. But it’’s true!)
Where/How IM Integrates
There’’s still the question of integration level though. How far can you integrate IM and/or social media? Well first off, here’’s a few integration potentials for Instant Messaging in business:
- Build IM into all aspects of an organization — Internal communications. Customer chat/support. On-website contact. Partner discussions. Vendor negotiations (including overseas!).
- Real-time conversation — It’’s called “Instant Messaging” for a reason. Neither email nor Twitter can give answers faster than that.
- Can do things with IM you can”t with a phone — Send images. Compare code or documentation in real-time. Swap links.
- Totally flat communication threshold — No gatekeeper to the boss; no implicit concern about bothering the manager/VP/CEO. If Presence says they”re Busy, they”re busy. If not, IM them!
Social Media’’s integration? In theory, it can go as far into an organization as IM could. More in some ways, like providing satellite platforms for a company on social media networks.
But there’’s a risk with social media doing so (in its present form). It can distract workers & customers with “everything else” in its platform. You can”t play Bejeweled in Instant Messaging. That’’s Facebook. (And it IS addicting - I”ve lost friends to it!)
So Which Has More Integration Potential?
I agree with Tony; Instant Messaging and will achieve full integration before social media. It’’s already there in some situations.
Social media is a game-changer for marketing in general. But in terms of communication, IM has a longer track record. And it “just works” alongside most other communication mediums today. The market will grow to completely work in social media — but it’’s not there yet.
Comments
