"The new business model that is evolving will be built on the concept of a business network, tying the traditional business resources closely with those of partners and suppliers. This connected model will also need to include much stronger connectivity to customers. Most currently deployed enterprise IT infrastructures and systems don't support and provide the required management capabilities for this close connected model."

Next-generation CRM systems are making improved connectivity to customers possible but the same technologies are also making life easier for the smaller business.  Cheap and powerful computing hardware, mobile devices, 3G/4G networks and web-based services for collaboration, document creation, CRM and project management are allowing small businesses and individuals to work more efficiently from any location.  I believe this will lead to a fundamental shift in the way that many knowledge workers operate and have implications for the traditional hierarchical structures of larger organisations.  Helping businesses make the most of these opportunities through developing their understanding of the emerging technologies should be a priority for those keen to stimulate economic activity in this country.  

Maybe I'm being a bit unfair but I think some of the claims made by social business proponents need questioning at the very least.  This comment by Michael Lazerow on the Wall Street Journal's All Things D website is fairly typical: "In the future, all businesses will reorganize around people, as failure to connect is not an option. It’s a corporate death sentence."  Surely businesses have always been organized around people and not connecting to people has never been an option for a business that wants to survive.  Every business has employees, customers, partners and suppliers and people work in all of them so what is different now?

Of course the internet and the social networking platforms built on top of it are changing how we communicate.  Information is shared and exchanged in far larger quantities and at faster speeds than ever before.  But, is that really changing the fundamentals of business?  People still need to talk to each other, to trust each other and companies still need to make profits.  Social networks make it easier for customers to share information about the companies they deal with and I can imagine it will become harder for businesses to get away with poor service and bad quality products.

However, I cannot think of a single example of a "relationship" I've got with any business that has been influenced by any online social network and I'm no luddite on that front.  I buy a lot of stuff from Amazon and their customer reviews of products influence many of my purchases.  So in that respect there has been an increase in transparency brought about by the internet.  However, no requests for me to follow a company on Twitter or like them on Facebook has resulted in what I would call a relationship with them.  That all feels so cold and clinical to me.  I use Amazon because they offer low prices and good service - if they stop offering that then I'll go somewhere else.  I feel no loyalty to them despite having used them for over 10 years.

So is talk of "social business" a lot of nonsense?  Yes and no.  There is lot of hyperbole, unsupported claims and the rehashing of the same old case studies.  But there is something much deeper going on: companies will find it increasingly harder to offer substandard services and products as social networks and a more transparent web allow people to share information about their experiences. This is where companies like Salesforce.com that allow companies to tap into these networks to improve customer service will do well.  That is not going to go away.  But let's not get carried away and think that online relationships with companies are the same as real relationships between people.  Social only goes so far online.