As a standard enterprise tool, Web 2.0 has a bright future, one that companies are expected to spend $4.6bn on by 2013 to integrate into their corporate computing environments, according to a recent Forrester research report.
Though still considered an upstart technology, Forrester believes that conventional Web 2.0 elements--social networking, RSS, blogs, wikis, mashups, podcasting, and widgets--are fast becoming the norm for communicating with employees and customers. The report highlights mega-companies such as General Motors, McDonald's, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance, and Wells Fargo among those who have already jumped into the Web 2.0 pool with both feet. Additionally, some 56 percent of North American and European enterprises consider Web 2.0 to be a priority in 2008, according to another recent Forrester survey.
"If I wanted to be anywhere in the Web 2.0 economy, I'd want to be on the enterprise side," report author and Forrester research analyst Oliver Young says.
Source: Information Week, http://www.informationweek.com