Business builds Web 2.0 networks

The arrival of Web 2.0 – the ‘new phase’ in the internet that encompasses social networking sites, podcasts and blogging – was for some users the most significant event in cyberspace since the dot.com boom.

While definitions vary, it is generally accepted that Web 2.0 refers to information sharing and online collaboration between individuals.

The practical applications that Web 2.0 offers business, however, are a matter of debate.

Justin Davies, the regional director consulting division for local business consultancy, Ross, said file sharing websites where businesses could store up to one gigabyte of data online were examples of Web 2.0 applications currently being adopted.

Other sites, such as Basecamp, allow employees and clients to collaborate on projects online, meaning tasks such as time-tracking, to-do lists and document editing can be managed live on the internet.

However, there are risk issues yet to be resolved in terms of the control of information, site access and intellectual property.

“Another part of the problem is, how do you manage information from an enterprise perspective? There are policy and procedure issues regarding the classification of information,” Mr Davies said.

One of the main consequences of Web 2.0 is the increasing availability of online applications, which Mr Davies said would have implications for software customers and developers.

“Instead of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on software, companies can move everything online to a hosted environment at a significantly lower cost,” he told WA Business News.

“Also, organisations such as Microsoft and Oracle are looking at what is going on with Web 2.0 and asking how it will influence software and how they can incorporate it.”

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is one organisation considering making the transition from Microsoft Office programs to Google applications.

A spokesperson for the CBA said the organisation was in discussions with both Microsoft and Google, and that it was not a matter of choosing one application over the other.

According to FX Digital Pty Ltd managing director Steve Cartwright, the social networking functions of Web 2.0 also had relevance for business.

Mr Cartwright said while Web 2.0 was essentially Web 1.0 rebranded, in terms of the technology available, businesses were interested in using the technology to engage customers.

“We’ve got one client at the moment with a turnover of $300,000, who wants a turnover of $500,000, so we’re looking at videos for their website,” he said.

Business-to-business networking is another facet of Web 2.0 being explored locally by Christine Sutherland, chief executive officer of Perth-based online company Speed Business Networking.

Ms Sutherland established a Web 2.0 component to her business – corporate networking site, My Speed Networking – in January this year and has built a worldwide membership of 84, with 33 members from Australia but only a small number from WA.

She said while the WA business community had been slow to engage with Web 2.0 applications, the site was proving popular with members interstate and overseas.

Online businesses are also using Web 2.0 applications to improve their business.

Claremont-based ebooks.com founder Stephen Cole said his company had developed its own Web 2.0 application, called the ‘eb20 reader’.

Mr Cole said the eb20 reader, which stands for e-books 2.0, was developed to overcome security issues with document applications, such as Adobe, that had to be downloaded.

“The program is 100 per cent browser based, but it looks and acts like a highly functional and sophisticated program,” he said.

Mr Cole said the company was currently in discussions with publishers and retailers internationally regarding the technology.