Executives Remain Wary of Web 2.0

Wikis and blogs may be all the rage in the business press, but a new survey indicates that companies are hedging their bets

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Companies may talk about embracing Web 2.0, but they're slow to invest in blogs, wikis, and many of the other new collaborative technologies that are generating headlines. Instead, they're putting their resources behind technologies that enable automation and networking, according to a Mar. 22 McKinsey Global Survey, "How businesses are using Web 2.0."

During January, 2007, 2,847 executives from global companies, 44% of whom were C-level or above, were asked to provide insight into which of nine Web 2.0 technologies they were currently investing in—and how their use of these technologies has evolved over the past five years.

Web services, including software that enables systems to communicate with each other, attracted the largest investments, with 80% of executives reporting that they use or plan to use them. These services might be used, for example, when a retailer and a supplier communicate over the Internet to automatically update each other's inventory systems. Collective intelligence, which attempts to tap the wisdom of crowds to make decisions, was the second-largest draw, with 48% of executives reporting investments. Peer-to-peer networking, a technique for efficiently sharing music, video, or text files, also attracted attention, with 47% of executives reporting investments.