Cos Increasingly Turning To Social Software: IDC

New International Data Corporation (IDC) research shows that enterprise social software adoption has accelerated significantly, finding use cases across almost all industry verticals as it continues to become a critical decision support and worker productivity tool. Many companies are now looking to build and implement an overall social business strategy and the most appropriate enterprise grade social tools will be a critical component of that strategy.

"Companies are turning to social software in increasing numbers as they look for ways to increase collaboration, improve both business and individual worker productivity, and efficiently manage a growing deluge of content and information," said Michael Fauscette, Group Vice President, Software Business Solutions. "Compartmentalised and specific collaboration is still required by many organisations and traditional collaborative applications providing closed loop and B2B communications will retain their existence in organisations alongside more open social solutions."

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IDC's research found that almost all vendors in the market had double-digit growth for 2010–2011, with the top 2 vendors, IBM and Jive, delivering greater than 70% year-over-year growth – almost double the market average. The fastest-growing vendor in the top 20 was Yammer, with a year-over-year growth rate of 132.3%.

"As organisations' workspaces become increasingly divested from traditional office environments, workers will ultimately choose the most appropriate combination of tools to perform daily tasks," Fauscette added. "It will be imperative for vendors to recognise that ad hoc collaboration will continue to complement social activity streams, particularly as enterprise social software becomes more embedded in business processes and the workspace."