It’s Time to Manage the Web

I’m excited because today the Internet Strategy Forum (ISF) released its 2009 Corporate Internet Executive Report. WelchmanPierpoint underwrote this research because we believe that 15 years into mainstream Web adoption, organizations are still treating the Web as if it were some cool new gadget. We believe that 15 years is enough time for playing around. The Web needs to be managed.

Talking about “management” as it relates to the Web does not make me a popular lady, especially today when the focus is on Web 2.0 and innovating through Web-based technology. While I am a huge advocate for innovation and change, I assert that organizations will be unable to fully leverage the power of Web-based technologies if they do not properly manage their Web infrastructure. Management does not mean stifling creativity or communication. It means providing an appropriate administrative and technical foundation so that Web content contributors and developers can be free to collaborate and spin the Web without putting themselves, their organizations or the public at risk. It’s about risk mitigation and quality control. Those aren't sexy words but they're important when it comes down to the bottom line.

The ISF research provides valuable insights into the challenges facing Internet Strategists (those top tier folks who run the Web) in all types of organizations. Based on the findings and our experience working with large, complex Web sites for over a decade, we believe that organizations can make a giant leap forward and create competitive advantage by supporting and rewarding those who lead the Web in their organization and thereby appropriately supporting the development of the Web for their organization.

According to the research, many top-tier Web professionals feel under-supported. They feel that their pleas to senior management for fiscal support fall on deaf ears. And, what’s worse than a lack of financial and human resources, many feel that the most senior management of the organization do not support their efforts to manage the Web strategically. What we hear in the trenches most often is that the C-Suite just doesn't "get it."

This must change. Can we make 2009 the year the Web grew up?  Or, are we going to continue on this dead-end path?

Take a look at the survey results. You can download a free 4 page brief here on our site. Or check out the full report (and the ISF) on their Web site.