So seamonkeyrodeo posted in response to (indirectly, as it were) my earlier post about using RSS as a corporate information sharing tool.  An excerpt:

The issue that I see with the entire post is not that RSS is unsuited for any of the functions that are outlined, but that it doesn't necessarily add anything to them, either. All of the meat of these ideas is tasty, but it's not RSS-flavored; these ideas are all about making sure that you're effectively analyzing, understanding, and sharing information within your company.

Well, first of all, let me just say that I was excited about the prospects, yes.  But I also said I was exploring the idea.  I was asking what other people are doing with RSS aside from blogging and news.  I think the technology, or if not RSS specifically at least the one-way syndication paradigm, has immense unexplored potential as a tool to enable more than just people like me to shoot my mouth off.

Now let's take a look at a sales tool scenario.  Let me preface the rest of this entry with the explanation that I have come into a position where I am creating corporate software from scratch, to fill needs where no software currently exists.  I have a pretty blank slate as far as implementation and whatnot goes, as long as there's value.

So sales.  Our salesforce has no tools.  They have Excel spreadsheets, cell phones, and email.   Sales folks in general tend to be inefficient with all three.  I would like to accomplish the following:

Crissy the Client Service Rep speaks to Joe Client.  Joe Client had a complaint about the service.  Crissy resolves the issue with a bit of handholding, Joe is happy, and everyone goes on with his day.  Now let's assume that Sally Sales has already stated that she wants to be completely in the loop regarding all communications/issues/etc with her client Joe.  To fulfill that wish, the following scenarios could be employed:

1. Crissy calls Sally.  Tells her what happened.  After every client interaction.
2. Sally calls in every so often and Crissy tells her what's up.
3. Sally calls Joe to check in.  Joe says what's up.
4. Joe calls Sally to tell her what happened.
5. Crissy emails Sally.  After every client interaction.
6. Crissy emails Sally at the end of the day with a summary of all client interactions.
7. Sally is given access to the client service system and can check on any actions taken with her client.
8. The client service system sends Sally an email after an action is taken regarding her account.
9. The client service system generates a report that Sally can go retrieve on the web (or have faxed, or whatever).
10. The client service system sends Sally an email with an aggregated daily synopsis of what has happened with her clients.
11. I install RSSBandit on Sally's laptop.  Every so often it polls her client feed.  If there's something new, there's a notification.

There may be others, but I think this covers it pretty well.  Now let's look at all of these in turn.

1. This is obviously inefficient and a timewaster.  Crissy needs to be free to work with clients, not spend all day on the phone with Sally.  Further, this will lead to phone tag.
2. This is inefficient because it doesn't handle for emergency situations.  And it relies on Sally to call in.  And it relies on Crissy to not be at lunch when Sally calls.  Then there's the issue of a 5 person CS department, and Crissy isn't the only one who has handled Sally's clients today.  So now Sally has to get everyone on the phone.  Multiply that by 20 sales reps, and Houston, we have a problem.
3. This is bad on so many levels, not the least of which is we don't need Sally and Joe on the phone with each other every time some minor communication happens between Joe and Client Services.  It just leads to misinformation and drama.
4. See above.  This is going to happen, but should be case by case, not the rule.
5. Inefficient.  Now Crissy has to fire up Outlook and send an email after every call.  And she fields 50 calls a day.  Well, actually, 30 a day now, because she's spending all that time writing emails.
6. Slightly more effective, but again, if 5 different people handle different accounts of Sally's, Sally is getting 5 emails at best at the end of the day.  And if Crissy handles accounts for all 20 reps, Crissy is sending out 20 emails when she's trying to get out the door.
7. Now this wouldn't be bad.  Except that Sally won't go to the tool and use it.  She'll call and ask for status updates.  Or send emails and copy everyone in the company.  And if she does go use the tool, she'll forget her username and password.  And she'll break something.
8. This is efficient from a system standpoint, but, go look at your email inbox.  If you get a lot of emails, this could get lost in the shuffle.  And if there are 100 actions taken on your accounts in a day...
9. This is not bad really.  The delivery could be automated.  If Sally doesn't want to go on the web to get the report (pull) then it could be auto-emailed or auto-faxed to her (push).  We're assuming Sally is lazy, not because we hate her, but because she is.  Actually, she is not so much lazy as wrapped up in her day to day stuff, so it may be a few days before she actively goes and gets this report.  But this is a viable option.  My only complaint is that it's batch.  It doesn't give her any information in time for her to do anything with it.  Coupled with more manual processes for emergency situations, this could be good.  But I'm a programmer.  I don't trust people.  I don't believe in manual processes.
10. This is basically the same as the last one.
11. This is fully automated.  When Crissy takes an action in the Client Service system, it gets indexed for syndication.  If Sally is connected to the Internet, then the aggregator will poll pretty frequently for new stuff.  Sally can read what happened within say, an hour of when it happened, and decide what to do from there.  It frees Crissy up to do her job, which is be on the phone.  No extra work is required for anyone.  The systems handle it all.  Furthermore, since all the information is aggregated, it doesn't matter if 5 or 50 client service reps handle 5 or 50 different clients for 5 or 50 different sales reps.  Everyone's information is where it needs to be with no effort taken by anyone else.  Additionally, say I equip Sally with a smartphone.  I can get her a summary feed on the phone a lot more efficiently than a bunch of emails.

So all in all, I think syndication wins in this one use-case.  What it adds isn't really functionality so much as system (people and technology) efficiency.  And an efficiency gain is a net gain all around for the company is it not?

Now I think it's dangerous and annoying to just glom onto some new and cool technology and try to turn everything into a nail with your shiny new hammer.  Syndication isn't a coverall answer to every business information sharing need.  But what I just did above is the process I intend to go through, that I have always gone through, when making implementation decisions.  I think in the case outlined above, it's not only viable, but also preferable.  In other cases, probably not so much so.

So again I ask...has anyone been implementing syndication into their corporate apps and not just using it for blogging?  I'd love to hear some ideas.

If I were cool enough to get some Scoble Juice I might get more responses on this, but alas, I am not.  Maybe if a few other people mention it we might be able to start a real discussion on this corporate RSS viability thing.