Collaboration 2.0 is the evolution of first-generation collaboration (loosely defined as teamwork, communication, and sharing) to Web 2.0 social computing. This second-generation collaboration is based on user-generated content and relies on peer-based tools such as social networking and social tagging. These technologies emerged into the enterprise realm from the grassroots, with bloggers, techies, and college students as their initial champions. However, they are now proving to be more productive for enterprise use than for any other application.

A New Era of Collaboration

Elevated beyond the consumer level, enterprise Collaboration 2.0 allows organizations to communicate internally as well as externally with customers, suppliers, and other key stakeholders. Where employees have made use of public instant messaging networks, makeshift departmental teamware, competing Web conferencing providers, incompatible file and document sharing, and decentralized databases, vendors have now caught on and provide integrated enterprise specific solutions instead.