Analysts say the move acknowledges that Web 2.0 vendors who seek to offer user-friendly features can't ignore Microsoft SharePoint in the enterprise. Jive Software, an enterprise Web 2.0 company that makes wikis and blogs for businesses, added a social networking feature and announced its Clearspace platform would integrate with SharePoint, a move analysts say acknowledges Microsoft’s growing market share in the collaborative technology space. RELATED LINKS How One Company Is Using Wikis and Blogs to Unclog E-mail Boxes SharePoint 2007 Demystified: How to Cash in on Collaboration Tools How to Use Enterprise Blogs to Streamline Project Management “Around 80 percent of our customers have SharePoint,” Dave Hersh, Jive’s CEO, told CIO. “You have to recognize it exists. They’re strong with work flows and files. But SharePoint is not good at working with web content, and we are. We can harness the collective wisdom of people and connect them in the right way.” Jive made other moves with this release too. It added a social networking feature to their Clearspace platform that allows employees to have profiles detailing their expertise and where they fit into the organization. Clearspace will also have a user-interface (UI) that users can add widgets to (of, say, projects or their calendar), what Herch calls an “iGoogle for businesses.” In addition, Jive acquired Jotlet, a company that focuses on calendaring. Analysts say the SharePoint move reveals the conundrum many Web 2.0 companies such as Jive face in the collaboration space. While analysts contend Jive’s blog and wiki software offers better usability features than what Microsoft offers in SharePoint, it’s still tempting for customers to keep all their eggs in the SharePoint basket. “Jive is very Apple-esque,” says Jonathan Edwards, an analyst with Yankee Group. “They appeal to the end-users because its [blogs and wikis] are so clean and better looking. They’re easier to use than what they offer in SharePoint. The problem a company like Jive will run into is Microsoft will say, ‘we can do that too.'” SharePoint’s marketshare for enterprise collaboration is staggering. A recent Forrester report showed that Microsoft sold nearly 85 million seats (or, licenses) of SharePoint, and predicted that they’re poised to dominate the collaboration software space for years to come. Oliver Young, a Forrester analyst, says that Jive can stay competitive in the enterprise collaboration space by adding new features faster than Microsoft does with SharePoint, an achievable goal given Microsoft’s slow development cycles. “Microsoft is on a three- to five-year development cycle,” he says. “In the world of Web 2.0, three to five years is a lifetime. The trick that enterprise Web 2.0 guys [like Jive] have to pull is innovating at a faster rate, but also giving customers value at the same time.” Related content news Zendesk to lay off another 8% of its staff, cites macroeconomic issues The new tranche of layoffs comes just six months after the company let go of 300 staffers and hired a new CEO in order to navigate its operations through macroeconomic distress. By Anirban Ghoshal Jun 01, 2023 3 mins CRM Systems IT Jobs feature 5 CxOs on leading change To be the agents of change that businesses require today, IT leaders must embrace a flexible mindset, prep their orgs for change, and recognize that intention and purpose are vital to empowering transformation. By Dan Roberts Jun 01, 2023 13 mins Digital Transformation Change Management IT Leadership feature Top 8 data engineer and data architect certifications Data engineers and data architects are in high demand. Here are the certifications that will give your career an edge. By Thor Olavsrud Jun 01, 2023 9 mins Certifications Big Data Data Mining events promotion Australia's CIO50 Team of the Year Awards finalists revealed Along with the unveiling of the annual CIO50 List and the team category winners, the 2023 CIO50 Awards will also recognise the inaugural Next CIO winner and a new Hall of Fame recipient. By Cathy O'Sullivan May 31, 2023 3 mins IDG Events Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe