社交网络何去何从

    如果将“社交网络”等专业术语与诸如“企业级软件”这样枯燥乏味的词儿联系在一起，结果是什么？结果显然是个煞风景的词，具体到我们要说的情况就是“企业级社交网络”。

    互联网领域里凡是涉及消费者的内容总是要新奇有趣得多。根据市场研究机构高德纳公司（Gartner）的统计数据，企业级软件的市场规模已经高达2,850亿美元。尽管如此，它得到的关注只是消费类网站的一个零头。而且，企业级软件跟上潮流的步伐往往过于缓慢，比如在使用iPhone、平板电脑、以及依托于网络的应用等方面都是如此。

    虽然社交网络是IT业重大的发展趋势，但是直到最近，许多非互联网行业的公司在企业办公领域部署社交网络的行动依然缓慢。尽管现在可能已有8.45亿个用户与朋友在Facebook上建立了联系，1.5亿名LinkedIn会员在网络内与同行广泛建立了关联，但是鲜有用户经常性地访问公司内部的社交网络来实现与同事的协同工作。

    不过，这种情形可能已开始改变。Yammer这个广受欢迎的企业级社交网络目前已拥有了400万名用户。最近，在有德丰杰成长基金（DFJ Growth）、科斯拉风险投资公司（Khosla Ventures）、查尔斯河风险投资公司（Charles River Ventures,CRV）、以及创始人基金公司（Founders Fund）等风险投资机构参与的新一轮融资中，Yammer融到了8,500万元美元。迄今为止，该公司已经融到了1.42亿美元的风险投资。

    Yammer并不是特例。摇摆舞软件公司（Jive Software）于去年12月上市。目前，该公司号称已经拥有1,700万用户。摇摆舞软件的股票价格上市时为12美元每股，现在已经上涨了82%。另外，Socialtext 和Socialcast等其他企业级社交网络也在成长壮大。同时，大型公司也开始介入这一领域。谷歌公司（Google）就对外宣称，要在社交平台Google+中增加内部社交网络功能。客户关系管理软件服务供应商Salesforce.com也认定其Chatter协同软件将推动公司的成长。

    上周五，Salesforce.com公布的收入和利润超过了分析师的预测。此前，分析师曾预测说该公司本季度收入将再次超出预测。结果，在周五收盘后交易中，其股价应声上涨了9%，达到143.64美元，创下了半年来的最高值。公司首席执行官马克•贝尼奥夫在接受电话采访时表示，取得这个好成绩的原因在于，该公司开发的Chatter等企业级社交产品已经吸引了包括惠普公司（HP）和电子游戏开发商Activision等公司在内的新客户。“我们本季度财务数据的杰出表现完全有赖于社交企业级战略的推行，”贝尼奥夫说。“借助社交企业战略，我们正在达成公司史上最重大、最激动人心的战略交易。”

    由于企业逐渐认识到社交网络的价值，于是开始兴起部署社交网络的热潮。上周，研究机构Altimeter Research公司发布的报告显示，尽管Yammer等服务在有些公司中日渐流行，但许多公司尚未认识到社交网络的巨大潜力，它不仅能在现有工作场所关系中起到加强沟通的作用，而且还能建立新型关系，提高工作效率。“许多企业领导人根本没有认识到，类似Facebook状态更新的功能在企业内能够创造多大的价值。” Altimeter 集团的创始人查琳•李在最近的一份报告中写道。“有些组织最初满怀热情，在组织内部署了社交网络功能，但最终换来的结果是，早期的种种努力均付之东流，剩下的只有寥寥几名坚定不移的参与者。”

    李曾采访了摇摆舞、Salesforce、IBM等软件厂商以及百思买（Best Buy）和斯普林特（Sprint）等公司。她发现，尽管社交网络在改善公司内部沟通方面潜力巨大，但是企业部署社交网络的方式往往并没有推动、反而阻碍了其应用。造成这种现象的原因，某种程度上是由于迄今用于企业级社交网络的投资还很低：李调查到的公司中，有三分之二去年用于社交技术的投资不足10万美元；余下的则是将社交网络胡乱地整合进公司组织，一些部门十分热心，另外一些则根本不放在心上。

    What do you get when you cross a buzzword like "social networking" with an eye-glazing term like "enterprise software"? A buzzkill -- in this case, one called "enterprise social networking."

    As long as the web has been around, the consumer side of things has been sexier. Enterprise software may be a $285 billion market, according to Gartner, but it receives a fraction of the coverage that the consumer web does, and it tends to adapt slowly to major changes, such as the adoption of iPhones, tablets and web-based apps.

    Social networking is another major trend. But until recently, many companies outside of the web industry have been slow to adopt them as workplace tools. There may be 845 million people users connecting with their friends on Facebook, and 150 million LinkedIn (LNKD) members networking with colleagues in their industry at large, but relatively few people frequent an in-house social network to collaborate with their co-workers.

    That may be changing. Yammer, a popular enterprise social network with 4 million users, raised $85 million in funding in a round including DFJ Growth, Khosla Ventures, Charles River Ventures and Founders Fund. Yammer has raised $142 million in venture financing so far.

    It's not alone. Jive Software (JIVE), which went public in December, claims to have 17 million users. Jive's stock is up 82% from its $12-a-share offering price. Others, such as Socialtext and Socialcast, are growing. Meanwhile, bigger companies are moving in. Google (GOOG) is making noise about adding in-house social networks to Google+. And Salesforce.com (CRM) is betting that its Chatter collaboration software will fuel its growth.

    Last Friday, Salesforce.com's stock rose 9% to a six-month high of $143.64 in after-hours trading after reporting revenue and earnings that exceeded analyst expectations and forecast that revenue would exceed forecasts again this quarter. On reason, CEO Marc Benioff told analysts in a call, was that the company's social enterprise offerings, including Chatter, was luring in new customers, such as Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and Activision (ATVI). "Our outstanding financial success this quarter was powered by the momentum of our social enterprise strategy," Benioff said. "With the social enterprise, we are now closing our largest most exciting strategic deals."

    The rise of social networks in companies is coming as corporations slowly figure out their value. A report by Altimeter Research last week said services like Yammer are growing popular in some companies, but that many don't yet realize the potential to strengthen communication in existing workplace relationships but also build new relationships that can increase efficiency. "Many business leaders are at a loss to understand what value can be created from Facebook-like status updates within the enterprise," Charline Li, founder of research firm Altimeter Group, wrote in a recent report. "Some organizations have deployed social-networking features with an initial enthusiastic reception, only to see these early efforts wither to just a few stalwart participants."

    Li interviewed software vendors such as Jive, Salesforce and IBM (IBM) as well as companies like Best Buy (BBY) and Sprint (S). She found that while social networks have a significant potential to improve communications inside a company, they are often implemented in ways that discourage rather than encourage their use. Part of the problem may lie in the low investments in enterprise social networks to date: Two-thirds of companies surveyed spent less than $100,000 on social technology last year. Others integrated social networking clumsily, with some departments taking to them and others not so much.