Enterprise Wikis

Imagine a large dispersed staff collaborating on projects just as effectively as they would do if they were all in the same location or a small organisation avoiding costly overheads for bricks and mortar premises. This is not a pipe dream but reality for many organisations taking advantage of wiki technologies. Wikis are on-line tools that allow users to collaborate in real time over the Internet.

The best known example of a wiki is perhaps Wikipedia the on-line encyclopedia where anyone can login and contribute. Take that functionality and apply it to organisations and the ability to interact easily to get the job done is reality. Right now the most common applications of wikis are text based knowledge management, light project management and documentation related but wiki functionality is quickly being enhanced by the incorporation of voice, video and IM capabilities. Users are able to work on documents whilst simultaneously discussing and even viewing each other’s actions.

The implications wikis bring to business go beyond streamlining communication and enhancing collaboration; the ability to effectively operate from home offices will allow all manner of organisations to reduce costs and in turn will reduce the need to commute and as we all know, less commuters means less pollution means a happier planet. I’m not saying that wikis will change the world overnight but they are already changing the ways companies communicate, only time will tell what the longstanding effects will be.

PBwiki is one of the leading wiki applications available, allowing users to take advantage of a free trimmed down version of the product as an enticement to pay for added functionality. Other wiki providers include: Social Text and Jotspot (now Google). I encourage you to take a closer look.