Comments on: Enterprise RSS must not die

By: Going with the flow: whither enterprise RSS? :: Blog :: Headshift « Fredzimny’s CCCCC Blog

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 04:57:19 +0000

[...] convinced RSS will evolve as a the default transport layer for information within the enterprise. Suw Charman spoke about some of her experiences of some of the barriers to take-up in companies where she has consulted, and helpfully reminded us [...]

By: Suw Charman-Anderson

Suw Charman-Anderson — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 17:28:46 +0000

I think a lot more people would benefit from using RSS than realise it, but it takes someone to sit down with them and show them, first hand, before they grok it. I’ve noticed people aren’t great at applying general concepts to their own situation.

I agree that the more apps produce RSS, the better. And I’d definitely like to see bacn converted to RSS instead of crappy email. Yes, it’s a complex issue, but companies that wait for all that to kick in are going to end up going to the wall. Now’s no time to be slow.

By: Gordon Ross

Gordon Ross — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 17:11:59 +0000

Suw, to follow-up on Tim’s comments above, I think that RSS readers and their success is half of the conversation here. The production of RSS within the enterprise, coming from platforms other than internal corp blogs, wikis, etc. is probably not helping drive adoption. How many enterprise apps use RSS to notify and alert? What if I could subscribe to a timesheet feed to show me who has & hasn’t updated their entries? How about an accounting system that produces RSS? This is a much bigger shift in how applications are developed. For those apps that do notify and alert, email is still the clear choice for most. And users of these systems have become accustomed to receiving notification emails, managing their inbox, and filtering these alerts. Agreed it’s still a good idea, but one that still seems a ways off from crossing chasms, etc.

By: Tim Bull

Tim Bull — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 23:53:10 +0000

I think it’s too early to call Enterprise RSS “dead”. It’s a common failing in the web tech industry to massively under-estimate the speed of take-up in genuine Enterprises for new technologies. The fact that large companies aren’t deploying RSS has more to do with their business model of “pushing widgets” and less to do with how useful it is or isn’t. While for an analyst, remaining up to date with the latest on everything is critical, for the average executive it’s not as compelling a case.

Enterprise RSS will come to Enterprises within the next 2 - 3 years as the Enterprise scale vendors like Microsoft and IBM continually push feeds into their products, especially those that people can see support their “widgets business”.

We are seeing a renewed interest in RSS and people start to “get it” now that we are piloting Lotus Connections which really requires a good feed reader to leverage the information in it. People value the internal knowledge exchange that Connections brings and want to stay current, quickyl driving a need for RSS, especially as many of these newer products don’t provide comprehensive e-mail based alternatives.

Calling it “dead” is mistaking the likelihood that we are (in Gartners Hype Cycle terms) currently in the trough of disappointment which regularly follows the “peak of expectation” set by over eager industry commentators.