“Mesh Collaboration” Seeks to Demystify Business Innovation in Web 2.0 Era
Strategy book by Capgemini’s Andy Mulholland and Cisco’s Nick Earle advises business leaders on how to harness collaborative ‘mesh’ in a Web 2.0 world
27 May 2008
Emerging Web 2.0 technologies can offer many new opportunities for change, but businesses are still struggling to effectively take advantage of these new technologies and business practices. “Mesh Collaboration,” a new strategy book written by Andy Mulholland chief technology officer of Capgemini and Nick Earle, senior vice president for Cisco Services in European Markets, examines how the world economy is changing and explains to corporate leaders how business model innovation through leveraging Web 2.0 technologies can be effectively applied to enterprise transformation in the corporate world.
“Mesh Collaboration” and its predecessor “Mash-up Corporations,” illustrate the impact of Web 2.0 collaboration tools through the eyes of the executives of a fictional company named Vorpal Inc. The story provides a view of the massive changes facing corporations in the era of mass collaboration. By harnessing the ideas of people in all industries in every time zone, global collaboration via collaboration tools (e.g. blogs, wikis, social networking, virtual weboffices and video conferencing, etc.) is opening the doors of corporations to fuel innovation, partnerships, and new personalized products and services.
Andy Mulholland, CTO, Capgemini says: “It is critical that organisations embrace new business models that encourage a greater and more effective exchange of ideas and resources. In today’s ‘Network of Everything’ you don’t just find content—you find connections to people that lead to new collaborations and opportunities to solve problems.”
“In today’s global economy, the companies that will succeed are those that identify how to differentiate themselves and innovate on their business approach,” said Nick Earle, senior vide president, Cisco Services, European Markets. “Web 2.0 has opened up an era of unprecedented opportunities for companies to deliver personalized products and services and collaborate within ecosystems to identify new markets. I believe that business that can effectively collaborate to drive differentiation are going to be the most successful and productive companies in the next decade. Those that don’t will continue to struggle against the forces of globalization.”
Mesh Collaboration is now available for purchase worldwide from Amazon.com. To find out more about the book, please visit: http://www.meshcollaboration.com.
About the Authors
Nick Earle
As senior vice president for Cisco Services in Europe, Nick Earle is responsible for developing innovative services to help accelerate customer success and partner profitability, utilizing the network as the platform for business differentiation. With over 25 years of IT industry experience, Earle has held a number of senior management positions, including CEO at StreamServe Inc. and president of EMEA Operations at Ariba. Previously, Earle spent 18 years at Hewlett-Packard, where his various roles included leading worldwide marketing efforts for HP’s $35 billion enterprise computing business based in Silicon Valley. He also served as president of HP’s Internet business, one of only two pan-HP business units. Earle is a recognized expert in emerging business models and has co-authored the book From .com to .profit: Inventing Business Models That Deliver Value and Profit. Earle was awarded an honorary doctorate in computer science by Liverpool University for his contributions to the IT industry.
Andy Mulholland
Andy Mulholland is a leading thinker and practitioner, helping clients recognize the impact of new technologies on their business models. Andy joined Capgemini in 1996 with 13 years of experience in senior IT roles. Mulholland’s role of Global Chief Technology Officer includes advising the Capgemini Group management board on all aspects of technology-driven market changes. He has led Capgemini’s advanced technology focus, and his blogging strategy and CTO blog has enabled Capgemini to build innovation through ecosystem collaboration. In the last six years, Andy has also published seven white papers proposing technology architectural models, three of which have become the norm throughout the technology industry, and most recently led Capgemini’s vision on business-driven technology clusters. Andy’s first book, Mashup Corporations: The End of Business As Usual, coauthored with Chris Thomas of Intel and Paul Kurchina of KurMeta, was published in October 2006. Prior to joining Capgemini, Andy has been the founder, or cofounder, of four technology companies that have either been acquired by leading multinational technology companies or gone public on the small capital NASDAQ.
About Capgemini
Capgemini, one of the world’s foremost providers of consulting, technology and outsourcing services, enables its clients to transform and perform through technologies. Capgemini provides its clients with insights and capabilities that boost their freedom to achieve superior results through a unique way of working - the Collaborative Business Experience - and through a global delivery model called Rightshore®, which aims to offer the right resources in the right location at competitive cost. Present in 36 countries, Capgemini reported 2007 global revenues of EUR 8.7 billion and employs over 83,000 people worldwide.
More information is available at www.capgemini.com
Press contacts:
Christel Lerouge
Tel: +33 (0)1 47 54 50 76
E-mail: christel.lerouge@capgemini.com
Vanessa McDonald
Tel: +44 (0)870 238 2856
E-mail: vanessa.mcdonald@capgemini. com
