Failure 2.0

Recently, I described failures in several Enterprise 2.0 and Web 2.0 systems, including Ning (and Salesforce.com), Netflix, Google, and Gnomedex.

Comments on these posts have suggested that:

1. I don't understand Enterprise 2.0

2. I should cut them some slack, because they are somehow special

Well, here's my position on this touchy subject: Enterprise 2.0 describes a philosophy of technological and organizational design; it's not a spiritual path. Mission critical systems, whether old-style or new, must adhere to basic standards of reliability and availability.

Just yesterday, computers at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) went down. My expectations of those people (clearly, the traditional computing camp) are no different than what I expect of Enterprise 2.0 folks.

If you build systems that real people rely upon, then build them right. If your system doesn't work reliably, then sorry, you aren't yet ready for prime time.

Update: Take a look at this comment from Jeffrey Walker, president of Atlassian Software, an Enterprise 2.0 vendor. Jeffrey "gets it."