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International Research Forum 2007 was crafted from information gleaned from the conference of the same name, enriched by subsequent interviews and research.

In May 2007, SAP Research hosted the second International Research Forum in Eltville, Germany. At this event, leaders from academia, business, and government came together to examine megatrends in Information Technology (IT). To write this book, Evolved Media transformed transcripts and interviews into a narrative that clearly explains the trends affecting today’s corporations.

The book is organized around four trends that were discussed at the conference: Enterprise 2.0, the Service Grid, User-Driven Innovation, and Business Model Transformation. International Research Forum 2007 provides a detailed analysis of these trends. Here are the topics in more detail:

• Enterprise 2.0. Enterprise 2.0 is the term used to describe the use of Web 2.0 by corporations. International Research Forum 2007 shows how the collaborative technologies of Enterprise 2.0 are transforming the nature of work.
• Service grid. The service grid is a fully formed computing environment based on services that people access over the public Internet to assemble mission-critical applications. International Research Forum 2007 discusses how the maturation of the service grid is creating new business paradigms.
• User-driven innovation. User-driven innovation is based on the idea that users know what they need better than anyone. International Research Forum 2007 shows how user-driven innovation enables end users to create tools for themselves and increases entrepreneurial agility.
• Business model transformation. Business models are the way that the values, strategy, and capabilities of a corporation come to life. They are the identity of a company in action, translated into specific relationships between the company, customers, and suppliers, along with the processes that create value. With the changes brought about by the trends of enterprise 2.0, the service grid, and user-driven innovation, companies are facing questions of how to transform their business models. International Research Forum 2007 shows how increased innovation and more flexible IT will facilitate business model transformation.