The Connections Blog

It's always great to see coverage of Lotus products in the wider media, particularly in magazines and online news sites that are read by the CxO-level execs - after all, it's these folks that we need to win over in the long run.

One such example, published just last week, is this article by Christopher Lynch in CIO magazine, entitled "Understanding Lotus Connections, IBM's Version of Web 2.0 For The Enterprise":

Though IBM might not be on par with the Twitters and Facebooks of the world when it comes to social networking, analysts say the company has kept its hands on the pulse of Web 2.0 with its Lotus Connections  a social software suite that includes blogs and social networking profiles, all made for the enterprise.

The author looks to compare IBM/Lotus' strategy with that of Microsoft and other vendors, and finds that IBM is more focused on the social networking aspects of the solution:

On the surface, Microsoft's and IBM's strategies for Web 2.0 might appear similar: identify existing customers and convince them that their social software tools are just as good as niche vendors, with the added benefit of providing better security. But analysts say SharePoint isn't truly in the spirit of Web 2.0: it relies heavily on users' having the Office productivity suite installed on their computers, and the social software on it lacks the same user-friendliness as similar tools made by start-up vendors.

IBM has taken a different approach than Microsoft. It got really serious about making their social software tools usable and easy on the eyes, which says a lot in a facet of technology where consumers (closely followed by start-up vendors) set the pace of innovation.

Rob Koplowitz, a principal analyst at Forrester Research, says that Connections is as good as any product made by a vendor focused solely on social software for the enterprise, adding, "It is also very good at integrating with enterprise content."

The integration Koplowitz speaks of centers around enterprise e-mail and messaging systems (such as, but not limited to, Lotus Notes and Lotus Sametime) and databases from vendors such as Oracle and Documentum. IBM has been able to grab the data from those systems and feed it into the social networking tools in Connections.

He goes on to look at why Connections is different to Sharepoint and other solutions in the market, and mentions IBM's foray into SaaS:

Users access Connections through a Web browser on the front end. In terms of hosting the data, Connections runs primarily on-premise (meaning, the customer buys a server to host the software), but Schick says that IBM has been beta-testing a SaaS (software-as-a-service) version, which would host users' data online.

"We see SaaS as a substantial initiative with IBM," Schick says. "We're in beta and focusing on it. We envision it for small and medium businesses, but also at the department level of enterprises."

Finally, Christopher reviews the progress IBM is making toward mobilising its Web2.0 offerings, looking at Connections for Blackberry and solutions for other mobile platforms:

For IBM's Schick, mobile figures to be a big part of IBM's plan to help social software maintain a pervasiveness in the enterprise. He says a large majority of IBM customers use BlackBerry for their mobile needs, and that factored into their decision to start there. But he did hint that more partnerships from BlackBerry competitors (though he didn't say which ones) could be on the way.

"We're working with quite a few mobile platforms," he says. "It [partnership with RIM] has been a whirlwind success, but we're not planning to stop there."

All in all, a very comprehensive (and complementary article.  A good one to pass on to customers and/or leaders in your organisation...

By: Stuart McIntyre | 0 Comments | On: 27 May 2008 08:52:55 | Tags:  connections  lotus 

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