Posts Tagged: ‘Connections 6.5’

Why Connections Communities Are Critical for Project Teams Success

30. März 2021 Posted by Adam Gartenberg

Project teams are a critical component of getting work done, and their productivity is key for success. Since collaboration and communication are so important, how do you know if your current toolset tools support your needs?

Eliminate roadblocks

One of the biggest roadblocks to close collaboration is the lack of a fundamental framework that makes collaboration easier. In other words, collaboration is not just a personal skill, it’s a result of structure and tools that support content sharing, ideation, and interaction between team members. If you add virtual project teams into the mix, the challenges of effective collaboration are even more pronounced. 

HCL Connections solves this dilemma by enabling organizational teams and project teams to create “Communities” to support a collaborative work experience. So, what is a Connections Community? It’s a flexible, digital workspace where people come together to communicate, collaborate, share information and expertise, and solve problems. Communities enable information flow and sharing across the entire collaborative ecosystem.

Make success repeatable

Connections Communities make collaboration an integral part of the work experience by organizing your productivity tools, apps, content and tasks all in one place. Virtually everything you need, focused on a particular project or important activity, is at your fingertips. Whether you need to view the status of assigned tasks or edit a shared document, your Connections Community provides the tools to get the job done efficiently.

Connections also includes a setup wizard to simplify the creation of new Communities. Use our built-in, professionally designed templates or reuse proven and engaging templates built upon your own best practices. Creating a new community and getting a new project team up-and-running has never been faster or easier.

Be more productive

One of the biggest productivity losses for project teams is searching for information. Information is typically disconnected from projects and tasks, and therefore hard to find. Studies consistently demonstrate that employees spend needless hours each week searching for crucial data and information. Communities address this inefficiency by providing a content repository for all project documents. No need to search across multiple applications to find missing information — everything is together in one place. Knowledge is presented and shared within an organized approach so everyone on the team can access it more readily.

Locating specific expertise or another team member, with a specific skill or knowledge to help solve a problem, is another benefit of a Community. Team members, with specific expertise, can be easily identified, speeding up problem-solving.

Increase transparency

Solving complex business problems takes efficient and organized teamwork and communication. Communities create a natural collaboration channel for team members to increase transparency and visibility of project timelines, dependencies and roadblocks, typically resulting in accelerated problem-solving. Communities also help facilitate communication across time zones and multiple geographies to make it easier to connect with remote team members. Problems are more difficult to solve if they are not visible — and Connections provides the framework to keep everyone informed, focused and on the same page.

Strengthen the power of your teams

Today’s workforce is more digital and automation-savvy than ever. At the same time, business expectations, needs and demands are evolving at lightning speeds. Connections Communities meet these challenges head-on by providing the needed framework to support the modern digital workspace. Communities are one of the most important basic components to help increase productivity, accountability and drive team results.

Deliver Your Projects on Time with Kudos Activities Plus and HCL Connections

21. Juli 2020 Posted by Adam Gartenberg

There are many reasons you should be planning an upgrade to the latest version of HCL Connections, since it drives greater adoption and creates a more engaged workforce within your organization. One of the key new features in Connections 6.5 is the integration at no charge of Kudos Activities Plus, a rapid, agile project management capability that gives your teams a way to reach their goals faster.  

The redesigned Activities features in Connections 6.5 provide an intuitive, user-friendly interface and a lightweight project management tool that helps people align resources, tools, and knowledge to get work done. Assigning tasks and due dates are core to making sure projects get done on time and within budget. Kudos Activities Plus lets Connections customers manage tasks and projects on both mobile and desktop devices. 

Any HCL Connections user can now easily and quickly organize tasks, teamwork, projects, and schedules directly from within their Connections environment. This new capability is free when you install the Connections 6.5 Component Pack.   

Activities Plus is also fully integrated with Microsoft 365 (Teams, OneDrive, SharePoint, Outlook) for users who want to combine the benefits of both Connections and Microsoft 365 — Kudos Activities Plus is accessible from within both environments. This advanced integration enables adding Activities to Microsoft Teams, sharing them via email, and adding files to OneDrive and directly to SharePoint as a Site Page as part of your SharePoint workspace.   

Find out more here, and schedule a demo here.  

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How to Create and Keep an Engaged Workforce

1. Juli 2020 Posted by Adam Gartenberg

Making sure your teams are inspired and engaged in their work can be challenging — and with more teams working remotely around the world, this matters more than ever. A recent Gallup study1 indicated that only a third of employees are truly engaged in their work. Gallup went on to say that organizations with higher engagement levels are not only more productive, they achieve four times higher earnings per share growth.

One of the reasons employees become disengaged is because they’re unable to find what they need to do their jobs — or because of a lack of information in general. It’s been estimated that employees can spend up to eight hours a week searching for information they require for their role (this means that 20% of the time, or one full day a week, work isn’t actually getting done!). HCL Connections has communication hubs to deliver relevant information more quickly and efficiently. Communities help connect people to the experts they need to get more work done.

Not knowing where a file is, who sent it or how, and which version is the latest one also means that teams can waste crucial hours and weeks trying to find what it is they need just to do their job. The shared document repository that Connections is built on maintains one instance of the file — a single version of the truth. This means that the exact same version of the file is available in both your personal folder and in all the communities it has been shared to. Anyone accessing the file, no matter which community they are in, will always see the latest version.

Fundamental to an organization’s success is creating a positive and productive work environment and culture. Employees who interact frequently with their teammates are more likely to share insights, willingly contribute to projects and take a more proactive approach to problem-solving. Creating a team- and people-centric culture is central to success. Connections has an onboarding wizard, which helps make sure new hires understand where to find expertise and where they fit in with their teams. Connections also makes it easy to organize around common team goals and activities, especially for projects like new product launches, global marketing campaigns or HR corporate communications. It offers a user-customized Connections homepage delivering relevant information straight to your desktop. Additionally, Connections includes a project coordination template, via Kudos Activities Plus, to manage projects and tasks. This keeps everyone on the same page, updated and focused.

HCL Connections provides a people-centric digital workplace that allows organizations to focus on what really matters: your people and your successful business outcomes. Creating an engaged workforce is the first step to that success.

Gallup Study, “Employee Engagement on the Rise in the US,” August 26, 2018. Link: https://news.gallup.com/poll/241649/employee-engagement-rise.aspx

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What You Need to Know about the Upcoming Launches

22. November 2019 Posted by Richard Jefts

The global launch of Domino and Sametime v11 and Connections 6.5 is right around the corner. In a recent webcast, we had Paul Withers and Tim Malone from Intec join our own Andrew Manby for a Q&A on the progress of the Domino and Nomad betas, key features for the V11 timeframe, and updates on launch events. Hundred attended the webcast and many of you asked great questions. We’ve compiled them here, along with our answers.
APP DEVQ
Q.Will there be an AppDev Pack release that’s compatible with Domino v11?
A. Yes, there is a new release of AppDev Pack coming with v11 next month
Q. Can you share what components of Project Sandstone and Nomad will be available at launch (4 Dec)?
A. Not right now, we’d like to keep some secrets for the launch event
Q. Will the Designer still be backwardly compatible and available as you move forward with the roadmap?
A. Yes, Domino Designer will continue to be available and be largely backwards compatible
Q. Thank you, and the designer client and will the applications continue to be backwards compatible with each upgrade?
A. Yes. That’s what we did in the past, and there are no plans to change this on the way forward. Domino Volt (LEAP on Domino) on the other hand is adding another layer where you can build and update applications in your browser only, no designer client required.
BETA
Q. Will there be a Beta 3?
A. No plans for a v11 Beta 3. We are getting ready to GA.
Q. Will there be a Beta (as announced) with non-English languages?
A. Yes, German and Japanese are already in Beta 2 testing. No further languages are going to be added to the beta.
FIXES
Q. Can it be a taken that a reported bug in V10 will be a fix in v11?
A. Depends on the specific bug, please work this through support related to a specific issue. When v11 ships there will be a list of SPRs fixed in v11.
DOMINO
Q. What will be Java version in Domino v11?
A. Open Java 8
Q. Is clustering and failover still built into the design of Domino?
A. Clustering is core to Domino and was enhanced in v10.

FUTURE

Q. You are a “Hell of a team”! Open, effective and progressive. Thanks a lot 😉

A. Thank you, we are working hard!

INTEGRATION

Q. Will there be an integration in Verse for Sametime and Connection, like Plug-in has been working until now?

A. As you heard, we are investing in a lightweight client strategy to run Domino apps with Nomad Web Assembly, Verse for Mail, and Sametime chat in a web browser. Consequently, we will be integrating across components of the Digital Solutions portfolio such as Sametime, and Connections as well as third party solutions such as CRM.

LEI (Lotus Enterprise Integrator) now HCL Enterprise Integrator (HEI)

Q. Will there be a LEI V11? If not, can I use LEI 9.1 with Domino 10 and 11?

A. Yes, we are planning an HEI (IEI,LEI) v11 release post Domino v11 eGA. It will be compatible with both v10 and v11.

LICENSE

Q. Will there be a community license with V11?

A. Yes, there will be a Community licenses available, however, it will be made available after the eGA of V11.

Q. Will the new licensing model for V11?

A. Yes, we plan is to talk about licenses at launch. Thank you for your tremendous feedback and support of simplifying today’s license models.

MAIL

Q. Is there a basic mail template available in Nomad for Android?

A. Yes, please sign up for the beta here. surveymonkey.com/r/XXBFP6N

Q. What about Traveler? Still looking for a proper single sign on options with Active Directory.

A. Just configure SSO against AD/LDAP using Directory Assistance.

MARKETING

Q. Notes Domino forum Q & A? the old Lotus forum and the IBM forum is still being used will these move to HCL forums?
A. We are currently curating a lot of information that has been transitioned across. This is taking some time to clean up and post.

MEETINGS

Q. Does Sametime V11 Chat have audio and video capabilities?
A. Yes, we support any third-party web conferencing capabilities such as Zoom, GotoMeeting, WebEx and Jitsi via our “External meeting room” feature in Sametime v11. You just need to configure an http link to the meeting room of your choice in your Sametime rich client or web client. Also, we have a new Sametime meeting solution coming next year. Stay tuned for more information.

HCL NOMAD

Q. Will Nomad support Domino applications running offline without the requirement for the Notes or ICAA Client?
A. Yes, Nomad runs existing Notes Client apps on mobile devices.

OpenNTF

Q. Does HCL have any plans to engage in the ODA on OpenNTF?
A. HCL recently announced at CollabSphere our support for OpenNTF.

SAMETIME

Q. Sametime v11 on Linux: Will there be a beta before GA?
A. Sametime v11 on Linux will be available with GA release.

Q. Is ST Limited Use still available in v11?
A. Yes, we’ll still have Sametime Limited Use option in v11.

Q. How is ST Proxy handled in v11?  Additional Domino server?
A. No Domino server is needed for Sametime Proxy. It’s based on Tomcat (which is prepackaged with ST Proxy installer).

Q. Will the Sametime v11plug-in work with Notes v9?
A. We don’t have any plans to integrate Sametime v11 in Notes v9 at this time. Please upgrade Notes and Sametime.

Q. Is ST v11 cloud, on-site or mixed based? Also, will it finally be able to do proper instant failover?
A. Our upcoming HCL Sametime v11 is on-prem only at this time. We are working on our cloud strategy — as announced — working closely with our cloud business partners. Could you expand more on your second question please? Are you talking about the traditional failover/recovery deployment for Sametime chat?

Q. Will it be possible for a user from an external organization to join a chat on Sametime v11?
A. It is on our roadmap and backlog for a future release.

Q. At launch does the Sametime v11 include both chat and meetings?
A. The upcoming release of Sametime v11 is chat-only offering. It does provide capability to configure a third-party meetings URL in your client and invite users to that meeting. Sametime v11 meetings offering is planned for mid 2020. Also, the Sametime v11 meetings solution will not require a webplayer plugin.

UPGRADES

Q. Will we be able to update/upgrade from Domino v9 directly to HCL Domino v11?
A. Instructions and guidance on upgrade paths will be made available early in 2020. Expect to see a webinar on the topic too.

XPAGES

Q. Do you have any news on XPages?
A. XPages continues to be supported and will receive limited enhancements. Our focus for app dev is Project Sandstone, Nomad/Notes/Domino, and Node.JS/Node-RED with AppDev Pack.

Q. Will Xpages-based apps run on Nomad WebAssembly?
A. No. Only Notes applications.

If you’d like to watch the replay, you can do that here.

The post What You Need to Know about the Upcoming Launches appeared first on HCL SW Blogs.

HCL Connections 6.5: What You Need to Know

1. November 2019 Posted by Danielle Baptiste

At Collabsphere in Boston, October 28–30, 2019, those of you who attended the Connections strategy session learned what we have planned through the end of this year and heading into 2020. For those of you who couldn’t join us, here is what we shared about the upcoming Connections 6.5 release. To add, we are excited to give Connections the attention and investment it deserves and make this journey with you.

Just three months after joining HCL, we launched Connections CR6. And with the upcoming launch of Connections Release 6.5 this quarter, our first major release at HCL, our momentum is strong. We’ve been listening to you through the #LetsConnect design thinking jams, the ideas lab, through email, via social channels, and at events, and we’re rolling out new features to drive engagement and adoption. Furthermore, these new features are a direct result of your feedback. HCL Connections 6.5 is our lowest TCO version ever. It includes:

Sidebar: An always-on slide-out dashboard, which gives your users access to Connections from anywhere in your IT environment, a lifeline to your network. Employees spend 2.5 hours every day, searching for the information and expertise needed to do their jobs. Put a different way; if you hired 5 employees, only 4 would be doing actual work. Certainly, Connections Sidebar will help change this.

Touchpoint: A simple, onboarding wizard quickly connecting your new employees to the network and content they need to get started. 69% of employees are more likely to stay with a company for three years if they experienced great onboarding. Connections Touchpoint simplifies new employee onboarding while helping you increase adoption for your Connections deployment.

Activities Plus: Connections now includes Activities Plus by Kudos to give lightweight activity and task management software to every employee. Any user can far easily and automatically organize tasks, teamwork, projects, and timelines directly from within their Connections environment. Above all it’s included for free when you install the Connections 6.5 Component Pack.

Elasticsearch: Connections now standardizes on Elasticsearch, reducing the server and administrator overhead required to maintain multiple search infrastructures.

Connections Customizer Lite: Connections 6.0 introduced the ability to easily personalize your Connections environment without the need to reproduce customizations when upgrading from version to version, furthermore, greatly reducing sunk costs and overall time spent personalizing deployments. Connections 6.5 introduces a Customizer Lite option that will let you deploy Customizer in a high availability environment with much less overhead – Kubernetes, Mongo and Redis are no longer required.

We hope you’ll take advantage of all the new features that will be made available to you in Connections 6.5.

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