Frequently Asked Questions
What is CollabWorks?How do I get involved - join?
What is CollabSourcing?
How do I identify E to E collaboration opportunities?
What is the core Enterprise value proposition?
What is the core Supplier value proposition?
What is the core Network Leader value proposition?
How is IP protected, shared, and managed?
What are examples of successes?
What differentiates CollabWorks?
What about my competitors?
How do I earn a return on investment (ROI)?
What is the network effect? Why does it matter?
What is the process for getting started?
What is CollabWorks?
CollabWorks is focused on enabling Enterprise to Enterprise Collaboration™. We have combined social networking (building trusted relationships) with sourcing (the optimization of resources) to create next generation outsourcing or what we call Collabsourcing™. The result is fewer processes to solve a problem and a cumulative benefit from a large network of problem solvers and solutions. Collabworks provides:
(1) the collaborative management, processes and brokering services to achieve project results; and
(2) the legal and collaborative infrastructure to enable eventually thousands of enterprises to share and distribute knowledge.
CollabWorks is bringing the Network Effect to Enterprises.
How do I get involved - join?
You can fill out a short form on this website or send an email to info@collabworks.com and we will contact you and set up a brief appointment where we will provide you a summary of our services, current project activity, and discuss the level of membership that best suites your needs.
What is CollabSourcing?
CollabSourcing is a term we use for the next generation in outsourcing. The goal of outsourcing is to further optimize resources by off loading tasks to third parties. By aggregating demand, IT typically saves 10-15%. However, outsourcing has its issues such as soft costs, serviceability, and lost of internal IT strengths. By collaborating with each other, participating companies can leverage their strengths and aggregate and share their resource needs. For fixed cost projects such as consulting, development, and vendor evaluations just two companies collaborating can each save 40% or more.
How do I determine which areas are well suited for E to E collaboration?
We suggest you review your funded and unfunded projects and sort out those that are important but not urgent. We then suggest you consider strategic interests such as key customers or suppliers where your company would benefit through IT collaboration such as support or CRM. Our members look for fixed or semi-fixed costs where at least 80% of the problem can be solved once. A few examples include: creating or modifying an application, solve a security problem such as dual factor authentication, or using a consultant to reduce compliance costs. Still other opportunities involve optimizing resources such as sharing program managers or applications test personnel that typically have peaks and valleys. Many ideas will come naturally as you collaborate with other IT groups – such as disaster recovery, green IT, etc.
What is the core Enterprise value proposition?
The core value of CollabWorks to Enterprises is to minimize the current barriers to collaboration – namely, lining up value chains, avoiding complexity, and demonstrating a clear ROI. We address barriers by providing collaborative management and brokering services, a collaborative infrastructure including tools and collaborative processes, and a simplified yet very effective legal framework.
What is the core Supplier value proposition?
Suppliers can sponsor enterprise collaborative networks. Enterprise networks can also invite suppliers into their projects to solve problems. Suppliers can also form supplier networks. Keep in mind these enterprise networks are not like customer support groups. With CollabWorks the supplier’s customers create real projects with clear deliverables that involve the supplier. This unified problem solving model builds trust around needs and solutions – a process that does not require the typical sales and marketing campaigns. Supplier benefits include:
(1) Getting consolidated customer requirements;
(2) a direct view into their market and customer roadmaps; and
(3) the opportunity for customers to recommend solutions to other customers as part of the collaborative project activity. At CollabWorks, we call this a peer to peer revenue channel.
What is the core Network Leader value proposition?
Network Leaders are thought leaders and domain experts. They typically engage customers in 1-1 consulting activities or they may facilitate an IT roundtable. Within Collabworks, Network Leaders drive collaborative activities as a domain experts and/or managers in a 1 to many framework where customers leverage the leader’s expertise at a fraction of the 1-1 costs - and the Network Leader leverages the Collabworks’ network and can now add value to many more customers.
How is IP protected, shared, and managed?
Our collaborative infrastructure can isolate IP by project and by member. We have developed a standard legal agreement for Forum members that allow them to control how each contribution of IP is made to a project and what rights are provided with it. The members of any given project determine from a set of rules which rules will apply regarding the contribution, creation, and distribution of IP. Project rules are determined by each Forum.
What are examples of successes?
In 2007, seven of our members participated in our security project. Each member completed a self assessment framework. Through our Network Leaders several areas of common weakness were discovered and three were selected for the project activity. Two of our Network Leaders facilitated bi-monthly meetings through our online collaborative infrastructure where ongoing issues where discussed and project activity was driven. In some cases members learned from other member experiences, in other cases the Network Leader either met with a member 1-1 or 2-1 and solved the issue, or brought in a non-member IT person who had just solved a similar problem. One assignment included evaluating vendors for dual factor authentication. One of our Network Leaders with data on over 1000 security vendors suggested 3 vendors for evaluation. A three member team then each evaluated a vendor and shared the results with the team.
Team members were able to solve problems in hours instead of weeks and were able to leverage valuable Network Leaders at a fraction of a typical 1-1 consulting engagement.
Other similar successes have been produced in SOX compliance, monitoring, and ERP.
What differentiates CollabWorks?
CIOs and IT executives collaborate in many ways today from roundtables, to CIO events, to informal networks. After discussions with many CIOs, we have learned that while valuable it is difficult to measure the financial and performance results from such activity. CollabWorks provides the management and infrastructure to solve real important projects that matter your company now. We offer you an opportunity to leverage the talents of your team with others and share huge cost savings by solving shared problems once. As the network grows more solutions and resources will be available to you – allowing you to shift more of your resources from maintenance to innovative solutions.
What about my competitors?
Members can control how and when they deal with their competitors, if at all. Members can chose to join a Forum that contains no direct competitor. Or, they can chose to collaborate on some projects that are not competitive while avoiding other projects that are.
How do I earn a return on investment?
It is estimated that about 60 This is the type of effect we engineer with CollabWorks’ Services. There is a clear advantage when more CIOs participate. The energy, creativity and resources that can be harnessed through collaboration are enormous. CollabWorks’ members leverage the network effect to create the opportunity for organizations to be more competitive, creative and efficient while learning from each other. % of IT development occurs within the enterprise community and not with suppliers. With CollabWorks, you now have an opportunity to leverage your top talent with others. For example, you may have an application that with little or no modification may solve a problem for one or many IT organizations. For example, you could license that solution to your CollabWorks Forum and at least one other member agrees to form a project where they pay an agreed upon amount into the project in exchange for the application. As project leaders you determine how those funds are to be spent. For example, they can be used to pay your staff or a third party to do the transfer, or to enhance the project. Now let’s assume that 4 other members want the use of the application and agree to each pay a fee to the project. Or, a third party could agree to license the application in exchange for royalties. CollabWorks brokers these kinds of opportunities, providing you an opportunity to earn a return on your development activity.
These opportunities will motivate your talented teams as they can earn a peer to peer reputation similar to open source and now there are funds available for further innovation.
What is the network effect? Why does it matter?
The network effect is a commonly used term in the consumer Web 2.0 space. Amazon, Google, Facebook, and LinkedIn are all examples of companies who have benefited from the Network Effect, also known as the Metcalfe Effect. It means that the more that participate, the more the value to all the participants. This is very important to CollabWorks and our members as we want to create the cumulative benefit of the network effect for all participating members. Imagine a network of 1000 enterprise companies helping each other solve problems. Many solutions to common problems can be shared during a project and used by others after the project is completed.
What is the process for getting started?
The first step is to determine what type of membership fits with your interests. For Network and Forum members we start with a strategy session with you and your team to better understand the collabsourcing opportunities, set priorities, and identify other enterprises that fit your collaboration profile. If your project priorities match up with some of our current projects’ activities then we launch you into those projects. We also help identify other members with similar interests and facilitate sessions to determine if a project is warranted.
Just like outsourcing takes dedicated time and commitment to capture the value, Collabsourcing also requires a minimum commitment per month of approximately 1 to 2 hours per month reviewing project opportunities and virtual networking regarding potential mash-ups. Over time, collabsourcing will deliver far greater value than outsourcing as the planning processes align value chains and the network effect delivers cumulative value.
