Posted by Bill Ives

Nineteen micro-sharing applications are reviewed and compared in Pistachio Consulting’s Enterprise Microsharing Tools Comparison. This is an excellent resource for anyone considering micro-message adoption in the enterprise. The reports first defines micro-sharing as “social networking tools and systems that enable listening, awareness, communication and collaboration between people, through short bursts of text, links, and multimedia content.” And adds that they are a “surprisingly powerful way to connect people to one another for corporate benefit.”

I have reviewed two of the nineteen they cover on AppGap (see Socialcast Brings Twitter Style Functionality into the Enterprise, Socialcast Adds iPhone and Gmail Plug-ins, and Twitter as a Business Application). The report covers 6 pure play tools, 4 open source, 3 enterprise-built (but may come to market), 3 integrated, 2 self-service and 2 that are labeled as pseudo. Since the report came out there has been a rise in integrated micro-messaging with platforms. For example see my recent post on the 15th, Rise of Micro-messaging in Enterprise Collaboration Platforms. The report provides an excellent framework to also assess these newer tools. The section on “what we asked and why” is especially useful for looking at any tool in this space. These are many of the questions you need to ask any vendor you are considering.

Advantages and disadvantages for each of the 19 are provided, as well as a comparative chart on the presence of useful features. Skimming these lists also offers you an overview of what is needed and lacking in this market space in general (e.g., directory integration, groups, location, sharing, and SMS. I am not going to get into the details as you should get the complete report from Pistachio. It is a free download.

The report concludes that microsharing is becoming a significant enterprise opportunity. “The communications and collaboration potential these tools have for leveraging personal and team effectiveness is dramatic. The applications are inexpensive to run, save travel, lost time, email and other costs, unlock latent value and hidden knowledge, and increase employee productivity, motivation, retention and career opportunities. “ They add at the end that they strongly believe this is the “harbinger of an enterprise technology shift.” I would certainly agree and recommend this report to get better informed on the opportunity.

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This entry was posted on Monday, July 20th, 2009 at 10:14 am and is filed under B2B, Management, Networking, Tips. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

About the Author: Dr. Bill Ives is an independent consultant and writer who has worked with Fortune 100 companies in business uses of emerging technologies for over 20 years. For several years he led the Knowledge Management Practice for a large consulting firm.. Now he primarily helps companies with their business blogs. He is also the VP of Social Media and blogger for TVissimo, a new TV schedule search engine. Prior to consulting, Dr. Ives was a Research Associate at Harvard University exploring the effects of media on cognition. He obtained his Ph. D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Toronto. Bill can be reached at his blog: Portals and KM. He also writes for the FastForward blog and the AppGap blog.