When UI Rules, What Drives Consolidation?

Whether you call it “social networking,” “social media,” or “online collaboration” depends on your point of view. In business, the term tends to be “online collaboration,” which suggests complex jobs getting done more efficiently by teams of people wherever they are located. The productivity gains–which are substantial, albeit often hard to measure–have drawn lots of companies into the market. As the market matures, we will see consolidation. And we’re interested in seeing what form this consolidation will take.

Historically, the game was to lock in users and then “sell” to that user base. That may be changing. The game is now all about user adoption, and lock-in is minimal. User interface magic may matter more than balance sheet clout. In this post, we’ll take a look at what features and services make up online collaboration in the enterprise and what will likely drive their consolidation.

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