Web 2.0 is here to stay

It's time for Web 2.0, whether you like it or not, according to Forrester Research. A new Forrester report predicted that half of the 42 percent of enterprises in a third-quarter survey that resisted the technology are now planning to invest in Web 2.0. That includes tools like wikis, RSS, blogs and social networks. "The IT shops that began experimenting with enterprise Web 2.0 tools for their own use in 2007--for tasks like help desk ticket resolution, standards and documentation tracking, and IT project management--will begin rolling out these tools more broadly to lines of business as they pass IT muster," the report said.

The report also predicted that CIOs will lower their resistance after seeing that employees want to use these tools very badly. So where does that leave the CIO? Better get your head out of the sand and roll with the punches because these tools are already making their mark on corporate culture. "Expect the adoption of social networking solutions for businesses to accelerate dramatically in 2008, with many firms looking for internal social networking solutions," Forrester said. "Nearly any vendor that uses the term 'social networking' will at least get some consideration."

For more on the Forrester report:
- See this ComputerWorld article