LONDON, May 26 /PRNewswire/ --

The year 2008 and economic downturn have changed the way companies are
going about their daily business. In response to the current recession in
Europe, businesses are seeking new ways to stay productive while
significantly cutting costs with the help of Web 2.0 solutions. From
lower-cost versions of enterprise applications, to utilising cloud computing,
'crowd sourcing' business owners are taking advantage of what Web 2.0 has to
offer.

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New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.conferencing.frost.com),
Web 2.0 Technologies in the Recession-hit Europe as a Solution for Small and
Medium Businesses, finds that Web 2.0 will supplement both Web and Audio-web
markets that were valued at $190 million in Europe in 2008 and are likely to
grow to $860 million by the end of 2014.

"Web 2.0 solutions may be part of the cure for the recessionary headache
that many European businesses are now experiencing; social networking sites,
wikis, and blogs are just some of the more well-known examples of Web 2.0
technologies that can play an important role here," observes Frost & Sullivan
Research Analyst Iwona Petruczynik. "These solutions are becoming more
prevalent in the European small and medium businesses (SMBs) arena,
especially at a time like this, when workers are being forced to do more with
less."

There has been an increase in the usage of social networking sites such
as Facebook, Twitter and other Web 2.0 solutions like Blogger and WordPress.
Until recently, they were primarily associated with consumer applications;
however, currently, they are finding usage in more professional areas.

"As an interesting side note, social networking sites are gaining
popularity in unexpected places, for instance, the world's most popular
online virtual reality, Second Life, was used by Sweden to open their
'embassy' in the virtual world to promote Sweden's culture and image,"
remarks Petruczynik. "In addition, Second Life is used in the Polish Ministry
of Interior and Administration, where the Ministry has a room, which a person
can visit to find out what the Ministry is doing and even ask the Minister
questions."

However, experts are unable to agree on one definition of Web 2.0 and
this becomes a challenge in defining its market size. Yet, it is unlikely
that Web 2.0 will become a stand-alone market, as it is a set of technologies
and ideas driving the development of existing products and services. The full
potential influence of Web 2.0 is only now playing out, as the concepts and
technologies are finding their use in manufacturing, customer service,
product development and sales.

Innovative modes of interaction among workers, enabled by Web 2.0,
contribute to company cohesion and employee retention. Telecommuting staff
too can collaborate with each other speedily and effortlessly, outside of the
formal e-mail stream.

Despite the evident advantages, some businesses are apprehensive about
fully embracing Web 2.0 tools. The popularity of companies' in-house intranet
and concerns about security and confidential information leaks are just a few
examples of the restraints faced by the European Web 2.0 market. Moreover, a
culture of 'busyness' retards the adoption of Web 2.0. If employees are not
seen working all the time, they are assumed to be inefficient and
unprofessional, when, in fact, they could be conducting their business
through utilising solutions such as blogs or social networking sites, like
Twitter or LinkedIn. In addition, Europe tends to be more conservative in
accepting new solutions. Therefore, the adoption rate of Web 2.0 in Europe is
lower than that in the United States.

"In Europe, there is a common misconception that a true deliverable is
measured in how many kilograms of paper one produces and hands over to a
client," explains Petruczynik. "This belief is hindering the adoption of Web
2.0 solutions, as more end products are being delivered in the form of a wiki
or a blog."

Moreover, the security concerns that many chief information officers
(CIOs) face are equally important. Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX), a
programming technique used by Web 2.0 programmers, poses security risks that
in the worst-case scenario include uploading malicious codes onto someone's
computer or hijacking an account.

According to the European Commission, small and medium businesses (SMBs)
constitute 99.0 percent of all enterprises in Europe and provide almost 75.0
million jobs. With such significant market potential, Web 2.0 vendors should
not have problems with deploying their solutions in the SMB sector.

"The best practice for those employing Web 2.0 solutions include creating
and implementing clear and easy policies, describing how to use social media
to avoid security risks, and leaks of confidential information, adapting
their corporate culture to promote openness and collaboration, and educating
employees on how to use Web 2.0 tools to become more productive and
efficient," concludes Petruczynik. "On the other hand, Web 2.0 vendors should
help in creating supportive policies, providing seamless integration with
existing advanced corporate communication tools, and offering a variety of 'a
la carte' Web 2.0 technologies."

If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides a brief
synopsis of the research and a table of contents, then send an e-mail to
Joanna Lewandowska, Corporate Communications, at 
joanna.lewandowska@frost.com , with your full name, company name, title, 
telephone number, company e-mail address, company website, city, state and 
country. Upon receipt of the above information, a brochure will be sent to 
you by e-mail.

Web 2.0 Technologies in the Recession-hit Europe as a Solution for Small
and Medium Businesses is part of the Conferencing & Collaboration Growth
Partnership Services programme, which also includes research in the following
markets: web conferencing, audio conferencing, video conferencing,
telepresence, unified communications and collaboration market. All research
services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and
industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with
market participants.

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Web 2.0 Technologies in the Recession-hit Europe as a Solution for Small
and Medium Businesses

9847

Contact:
    Joanna Lewandowska
    Corporate Communications - Europe
    P: +48-22-390-41-46
    E: joanna.lewandowska@frost.com


    http://www.frost.com