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Intrigued by the concept of Enterprise 2.0? If your company is considering implementing Web 2.0 technologies as an innovative business solution, advancements are being made every day within enterprise collaboration and social networking applications. If you’re like most executives however, you are still on the fence or unsure how to approach these new technologies.

Business software and technology consultant Dion Hinchcliffe led a workshop at last week’s Enterprise 2.0 Conference in Boston. As part of his presentation, Hinchcliffe discussed the allocation of resources and expenses related to introducing 2.0 technologies within organizations. From his experiences, here is the breakdown…

Tools 15% – First understanding that Enterprise 2.0 is more about people than it is about software and hardware, the cost of acquiring business collaboration and/or social networking systems is potentially the smallest expenditure. Even though the cost of solutions can vary greatly, there are several other considerations in this plan.

Customization and Integration 25% – One size fits all would be ideal, but most companies have unique business processes and applications. Customizing the user experience to ensure smooth integration and transition will take some time and resources.

Community Management 25% – As we look towards the long term, serving the community of users will be instrumental. Through engagement, moderation and mentoring we will see greater adoption and participation throughout the organization.

IT Support 15% – Keeping all-systems-go requires a skilled IT team, as with most business technologies.

Project and Change Management 20% – Enhanced collaboration, communication and transparency creates several new dynamics that can be foreign to many traditional business organizations. The culture of many companies can easily create resistance to any Enterprise 2.0 initiative. Creating clear objectives, measuring results and making appropriate changes along the way will be key to progress and success.