Northwestern Mutual's foray into Web 2.0
Forrester has published a detailed case study by Oliver Young (available for $279) on the adoption of Web 2.0 technologies by Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance. The company has deployed blogs and RSS feeds to employees and seen improvements in productivity and communications, although the ROI is difficult to measure. One of the good surprises is that 70 percent of Northwestern Mutual's 90-plus active blogs are focused on project management. The company developed guidelines for its internal bloggers and also addressed security, compliance and retention concerns in the platform.
According to Forrester’s June 2007 US Web 2.0 Online Survey, the adoption of Web 2.0 tools is at an early stage, but more corporations are investing in blogs, wikis, RSS and podcasting, mostly on a small scale. The survey didn't include social networking, which has also come on the radar, especially as it can tie into existing HR systems.
However, Young points to several barriers to Web 2.0 adoption in the enterprise in his report:
- Enterprise Web 2.0 lacks a measurable value proposition.
- Managers have concerns about Web 2.0 disruptions.
- Many CIOs pursue a “search and destroy” strategy, stamping out unsanctioned use of Web 2.o tools. Nearly 80 percent of the CIOs surveyed were very or somewhat concerned about the uncontrolled usage of Web 2.0 tools.
Get the full report: Case Study: Northwestern Mutual’s Enterprise Web 2.0 Journey