1. Enabling Collaboration with IT
Chapter 16
Enabling Collaboration with IT
© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.  Publishing as Prentice Hall

2. Outline Collaboration & IT Why collaboration
Components of successful collaboration
IT in collaboration
How to collaborate
Collaboration no competition, 4:21
Top 10 Mergers & Acquisitions, 6:40
©2009

3. Collaboration and IT
Virtual interaction is becoming the rule of today’s workplace.
Today, a large percentage of employees accomplish their daily work done through collaboration technologies (e.g., , instant messaging, video conferencing, Twitter, Facebook).

4. Collaboration and IT (continued)
Business and IT managers still struggle to quantify the real value of collaboration technologies.
Collaborative software represents one-fifth of most organizations’ technology budgets, but business leaders are still uncertain of its business value.

5. Why Collaborate? Top-line value Cost savings Effectiveness
Accessibility of people
Accessibility of information
Flexibility
Potential business value from collaboration

6. Why Collaborate? (continued)
Top-line value The collaboration across an organization and with customers, suppliers, and other third parties, that will strengthen the ability to identify new business opportunities.

7. Why Collaborate? (continued)
Cost savings Collaborative technologies facilitate the work of global and virtual teams by compressing work flows, reducing development costs, increasing communication and improving coordination.

8. Why Collaborate? (continued)
Effectiveness Collaborative technology is useful in integrating remote and mobile workers seamlessly into a team. It enables them to more effectively juggle a variety of commitments.

9. Why Collaborate? (continued)
Accessibility of people Collaborative technology facilitates the access to a broader range of skills, capabilities, resources and services.

10. Why Collaborate? (continued)
Accessibility of information Collaboration and its associated technologies make information much more accessible than before (e.g., information repositories).

11. Why Collaborate? (continued)
Flexibility Flatter, more networked, and collaborative structures create a leadership environment that facilitates timely decision making and fluid workforces.

12. The Range and Scope of Collaboration
Where are they Collaborating?
Who is Collaborating?
What are they Collaborating on?
COMPLEXITY
How are they Collaborating?
Electronic
communication
Individuals
Transactions
On-site
Internal Teams
Routine Activities
Virtual
Electronic
conferencing
Ad hoc, un-
structured initiatives
Communities
of Interest
Electronic
management
Mobile
Innovation
Organizations
Electronic
content creation
& management
Customers
and others
Dynamic, real time
strategies
Global

13. Components of Successful Collaboration
People
Strong communication skills are essential. Managers should create a collaborative environment, instead of solely monitoring productivity.
Program
Collaboration needs to be part of a coherent program to create and capture value, not just a series of stand-alone efforts.
Processes
Processes that support innovations and collaborative teams need to be developed.
Platforms
These are the tools, technologies, and standards that enable people to share data and to work together.

14. The Role of IT in Collaboration
Communication
-- Collaborative technology (i.e., from voice
mail to video) enables communication.
-- A single technology spectrum should support communication rather than separate components.
-- Communication technology should be ubiquitous, reliable, secure, and integrated.
Facebook/Google & Collaboration, 3:00

15. The Role of IT in Collaboration (continued)
Information access and management
-- An improved information processing capability includes accurate and visible information, manipulability,
exchangeability and ease of information transfer.
-- An optimal number of databases, data management platforms, and intranets support this access.
Google Docs Collaboration: 2:52

16. The Role of IT in Collaboration (continued)
Security and risk
-- IT function should ensure the balance between the openness required by collaboration and the risks involved.
-- Security must become more granular and principles based (i.e., developing policy on how to use social networking).

17. The Role of IT in Collaboration (continued)
Technology integration
The more IT can achieve integration of data, applications, hardware, and software, the easier it will be to provide the information and tools needed to facilitate collaboration.
Sharing files with Dropbox, 4:14

18. First Steps for Facilitating Effective Collaboration
Develop a coherent vision
Plan for adaptation
Start with specific fundamentals
Establish principles of behavior
Gradually move beyond the firewall

19. First Steps for Facilitating Effective Collaboration (continued)
Develop a coherent vision
-- Includes what the business wants to accomplish with collaboration and what types of technology would best support it.
-- Includes a unified strategy and business models, tools and experiments.

20. First Steps for Facilitating Effective Collaboration (continued)
2. Plan for adaptation
-- IT function needs to develop the “flexing skills” to cope with dynamic collaboration.
-- The management of collaboration needs to be multidisciplinary and responsive to
change.

21. First Steps for Facilitating Effective Collaboration (continued)
3. Start with specific fundamentals
-- The start point for collaboration often lies in two specific fundamentals, information management and access. The organization should assess the existing gaps that hinder these fundamentals (e.g., office spaces).

22. First Steps for Facilitating Effective Collaboration (continued)
4. Establish principles of behavior
-- Includes the development of a code of conduct to govern electronic communication and collaboration (e.g., policies and practices to achieve
an effective work-life balance).

23. First Steps for Facilitating Effective Collaboration (continued)
5. Gradually move beyond the firewall
-- Includes the identification of what information can and cannot be shared outside the organization’s boundaries.

24. Conclusions
Collaboration is a complex concept with uncertain benefits and requires major organizational changes.
Effective collaboration does not depend solely on implementing more collaborative software, but it requires a proactive and holistic strategy that integrates business goals and technology potential.