Managers Unclear About Impact of Social Business

The social-media train continues to gain momentum. Especially when more companies than ever now view social business as a key focus of current and future investment, according to a recent survey from IBM. Yet, while executives are eager to exploit social-media business tools to boost sales, improve collaboration and enhance the customer experience, considerable reservations exist about whether managers will be able to effectively oversee such efforts. And needed support from the C-suite could stand to improve. "Businesses are struggling to make sense of the vast amount of data generated from social networks,” says Kevin Custis, vice president and global leader of social business and mobility services at IBM Global Business Services. "To transform a vision into a reality, executive leadership must guide middle management on the value of being a social business, and build company-wide support for the use of social practices across organizational functions."An estimated 1,160 business and IT professionals took part in the research. For more about the survey, click here.