Wachovia set to give 120,000 users access to wikis, blogs and social networks

Computerworld - The agenda for last year's Enterprise 2.0 Conference was vendor- and analyst-heavy, since, at the time, few end-user companies were widely using the Web 2.0 technologies that were nurtured by the consumer market.

The agenda for this year's conference, which opened today in Boston, indicates that the technologies have spread through some top companies over the past year.

For example, in a keynote speech Wednesday, Pete Fields, e-business director for employees and corporate services at Wachovia Bank, will talk about the firm's rollout of wikis, blogs and employee social profiles to 60,000 users to date, and its plans to double that total later this year.

In an interview with Computerworld today, Fields said that the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank has moved to embrace Enterprise 2.0 technologies to meet the needs of the its young Generation Y workers, who grew up continuously "connected"; to capture the knowledge of retiring workers to avoid brain drain; and to provide all its employees better ways to work together.

Fields said Wachovia began its Enterprise 2.0 journey two years ago, when some of its enterprise systems — including its content management and knowledge management systems — were aging and needed to be re-architected or replaced. In addition, the company had been eyeing some of the maturing consumer-based social networks and theorizing how the tools could be applied in the business, he said.

The project was launched by replacing Verity search tools and a Documentum content management system with an integrated system based on Microsoft Corp.'s SharePoint technology, now the core of Wachovia's Enterprise 2.0 effort.

After a proof-of-business case to test the concept with a small group of users, the bank rolled out the technology to 1,000 employees in December 2007 and has since gradually provided access to 60,000 — half of Wachovia's entire workforce.

The system lets users access wikis, blogs and profiles that include photos and information about the roles of employees. It also allows users to access a corporate directory for contact information and can note whether an employee is available via instant messaging or phone or is in a meeting, Fields added.

Later this year, the company plans to add features to the social networking profiles, along with the ability to track some user activities, such as content tagging, Fields said.

In addition, Wachovia plans to allow employees to create their own ad hoc wikis and blogs. "We expect to stand up thousands of wikis around processes, policies and products. That will allow 120,000 people to contribute their knowledge," Fields said.

One of the main drivers behind the company's Enterprise 2.0 project is the desire to provide a way for the newest generation of workers to have a voice in the company.