What BPM Software and Workflow Software can learn from Zynga about Facebook

By brian | December 15, 2010 | BPM, Open Source

Do you agree with my list of the top 10 applications open on your employees’ PCs per my blog post on December 13th entitled Top 10 applications Open on your Worker’s PC and why BPM Software and Workflow Software are not in the list?  Are you as disturbed about it as I am?  Remember, by “you” we mean the manager of a 200-2,000 person organization.  So, faced with the fact that these are the 10 applications that most ocuppy your employees time, are you happy about it?

At the risk of falling into the age old argument of whether all of these new technologies are making us more productive or simply busier, we must face the fact that any new application that we introduce will need to fight for the attention of employees.  So, just as in the home, parents are “fighting” for the attention of their children whose multi-tasking takes them from ipod to iphone to gaming console, we need to realize that the business environment is really no different.

One strategy, is to recognize that only a few can claim to be “uber” tools.  So, as Outlook passes this crown to relative newcomers like Facebook and Twitter, how should business applications react.  Even if you think Facebook has nothing to do with your business software, undoubtedly it should still be looked upon as a platform.  Many organizations today no longer consider deploying web pages but are now simply opting to put up Facebook groups and Fan pages.  Given this fact, maybe some enterprise software providers will start building Facebook apps instead of web apps. Oh..wait..they are already doing it – on the iphone, android, facebook and others.  What makes Zynga a $5 billion company?  Is it the people spending time on Zynga’s website?  No, its the people using their iphone and facebook apps and games?

So, let me end with a final thought – when will we see the first 100% Facebook based BPM Software or Workflow software?  Sound crazy?  I believe it is just around the corner.  Some might ask, “who would want to encourage their employees to mix their social activities with such strict business activities?”   I reply, “If more than 50% of our email is social or spam, then aren’t we already mixing the social and business?  And at this point can they really be disentangled?”

Facebook is clearly winning the war to become the Internet of the Future.  Oprah’s question about whether Mark Zuckerberg wants to own the Internet, is not hyperbole.  The fact is that the Web has become synonymous with the Internet and these are not identical terms.  The Web is an application which sits on top of the “network of networks.”  But tomorrow, that application could change and we might wake up to realize that suddenly Facebook has taken over this position for all intents and purposes.  Sound scary?  Of course, it is.  But from the standpoint of an application like BPM Software and Workflow Software, we are pragmatists.  We simply need to find the most effective vehicle to bring our functionality to users, right?  So should we care if this bpm software runs through Facebook or Twitter in the future?