Why Content-Aware Security Is Critical For Enterprise 2.0 Collaboration

As CIOs face increasing pressure to make the connection between IT and business results, many are turning to collaboration technologies to drive innovation. Enterprise 2.0 collaboration offers organizations measurable, positive differences to the bottom-line, something all enterprise IT projects seek but few can provide. Such improvements have led to the substantial adoption of enterprise collaboration tools like SharePoint. While this adoption is empowering organizations around the globe and improving innovation, social business is often seen as a security and compliance risk. Therefore, collaborative tools must be partnered with effective, content-aware security to protect sensitive data.

The Enterprise 2.0 dream of using social technologies to increase productivity has been talked about for more than five years and is finally set for widespread adoption as it comes into alignment with CIO and CEO priorities. A survey of CIOs found that more than half are predicting that real-time collaboration technologies such as SharePoint will surpass email as the chief form of internal communications in the next 5 years. AIIM's "State of the ECM Industry in 2011" confirms SharePoint is seeing rapid adoption for enterprise collaboration and as an information portal. Of AIIM's survey respondents 58% already use SharePoint -- nearly twice as many as two years ago.

The benefits of social business tools like SharePoint are widely acknowledged. IT services companies like Unisys are using SharePoint 2010 to increase operational efficiencies and close more business through expertise location. Canadian telecommunications giant TELUS saved more than $5M in 2011 using SharePoint to provide its 35,000 employees with an informal, social learning environment.