The ESN market has been undergoing a lot of change over the past year, in line with a number of end-user adoption trends. Though ESN solutions are frequently used by European organizations as a companywide collaboration platform, we are seeing growth in applications for innovation management, project management, customer experience management, and a range of other specific use cases.
"European organizations implement enterprise social networks in order to make their workers more productive, their processes more collaborative, and their knowledge bases more easily accessible," said Alys Woodward, research director, European Enterprise Social Business at IDC. Co-author Jan van Vonno, senior research analyst, IDC European Social Business and Collaboration Solutions, said, "There are a number of different adoption patterns for enterprise social networks in Europe. Some customers will find that they have unique requirements, while others are looking for a general collaboration platform. As a result, we see that the market has evolved in a similar way, with vendors delivering a set of diverse capabilities."
The study, IDC MarketScape: European Enterprise Social Networks in 2014 (IDC #LP02W, December 2014), assesses the ESN market in Europe and analyzes a number of specific vendors. The vendors included in the analysis are IBM, Jive Software, Microsoft, Salesforce.com, SAP, TIBCO, blueKiwi Software, Hype Innovation, Lithium, Zyncro, and Zimbra. These providers were evaluated using detailed criteria that IDC identified as key factors contributing to vendor success in the European ESN market.
For more information, please contact your local IDC office or visit www.idc.com
About IDC MarketScape
The IDC MarketScape vendor analysis model is designed to provide an overview of the competitive fitness of ICT (information and communications technology) suppliers in a given market. The research methodology uses a rigorous scoring methodology based on both qualitative and quantitative criteria that results in a single graphical illustration of each vendor's position within a given market. IDC MarketScapes provide a clear framework in which the product and service offerings, capabilities and strategies, and current and future market success factors of IT and telecommunications vendors can be meaningfully compared. The framework also provides technology buyers with a 360-degree assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of current and prospective vendors.