Jeremiah Owyang has written about the Challenges The Enterprise will face with Enterprise 2.0. However, I think the challenge is less of an IT one and more of a cultural phenomenon (as in his point #6) that needs to be driven by the MARKETING organization within enterprises.

Why? Well, mainly because I think the Enterprise 2.0 technologies, while relevant inside the firewall, will have the greatest impact outside the firewall – with the market.

Customers. Prospects. Competitors. Resellers. Pundits. Gurus. Reviewers. Bloggers. Journalists. Industry analysts. Financial analysts. User Groups. All of these entities (and more) represent the market that will have a greater and greater impact on who buys what and why from enterprises.

Yes, knowledge sharing inside companies is important and valuable, but who buys what and why is what makes the company survive, thrive or die. THIS is where the focus of enterprises should be, because THE MARKET is where the greatest impact will occur.

Jeremiah is right to point out that IT plays a role, and they do not usually play the role of the innovator. They have standards to keep track of, and security to worry about. Enterprise 2.0 will create a nightmare (in their eyes) of maverick systems that operate outside of their control. E2.0 will scare them. They will want to slow it down, and they are likely to succeed within the firewall, where they should exercise significant control.

My prediction is that (within innovative, marketing-savvy companies) IT will watch as E2.0 takes off outside the firewall, and they will have no power to stop it and very little power to influence it.

That is why marketing should own it … at least outside the firewall, where it matters the most. What do you think?