Aussie stories from Enterprise 2.0

Some excellent case studies being revealed at Enterprise 2.0, starting with the software development manager at Cochlear, Victor Rodrigues, who discussed how use of wikis is transforming the way Cochlear staff interact and collaborate.

He was followed by the chief technology officer at Westpac, David Backley, who says that Web 2.0 is something that you have to get out and try, and not be afraid of failure, because you probably will fail once or twice at least. He also stressed the difficulty in introducing technology to a business who's employees cover three generations. Web 2.0 tools are not now proliferating through Westpac, governed by a code of conduct, which is in term led to a proliferation of activity within the organisation.

The third speaker was Nathan Wallace, the associate director of technology at the pharmaceutical company Janssen-Cilag.His company has replaced its intranet with a wiki, introducing web 2.0 technology to a very traditional business environment. Everyone can add news, with ease-of-use having been the mantra, along the lines of 'if you have to train them, you have lost them'. The company has even implemented its own take on Twitter, called Jitter, for communication with remote workers.

The final presenter was the national manager for technology and knowledge at Urbis, Andrew Mitchell, who has championed various Web 2.0 initiatives within the company. One idea was to use blogging as a way of circumventing e-mail traffic was knocked back by management, primarily on the issue of time. Since then the company has had some successes in its mobile and knowledge management teams, with a vision around enterprise RSS.