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This article is a guest post by Axel Oppermann, Market Analyst for the Experton Group.

With the Release of Connections 4, IBM Consolidates Its Position in the Social Business Market

Two general trends are emerging in the use of social business technology today. On the one hand there are initiatives and campaigns driven by companies’ IT, administration, or corporate development departments, which are roughly comparable to project and procurement processes in conventional IT projects. Companies tend to find that the technical implementation of such tools proves less of a challenge than reorganizing the workflows involved. On the other hand, we are seeing social software applications and associated thought patterns spreading virally through companies from various other departments or individual interest groups, generally in a more unstructured fashion. In the first scenario, social business applications are introduced in a planned and controlled manner, while in the second they spread because they offer an immediate and pragmatic way of meeting the specific needs of individual employees or teams. In other words, social tools or so-called Web 2.0 services are introduced and become established as an integral part of the digital workplace in a bottom-up approach. If these products and services are intuitive to use this further encourages wide participation of like-minded users and a rapid spread throughout an organization. Once the “tipping point” has been reached, the applications are integrated with other IT solutions within the company. The tipping point tends to occur when the new users of a social business solutions are particularly influential in terms of a company’s culture, performance etc.

As a result, applications like Jive, Socialtext, Yammer and Tibco are increasingly making their way into the workplace. However, in many cases their capability – in terms of licensing or level of service, for example – is inadequate for use in larger companies or corporation, even if the basic capability is there. Companies need, and are increasingly demanding, social business solutions that are enterprise-ready.

IBM Collaboration Solutions Software (formerly Lotus/Notes): Like a Phoenix from the Ashes

When it comes to collaboration in the widest sense, many users and IT decision-makers all too often still associate IBM with the old-fashioned, inflexible worlds of Lotus/Domino or with falling market shares in the area of groupware solutions, where IBM had to take a few hard knocks in recent years. But in actuality, the picture has changed completely over the last few months and years, and IBM products have become trailblazers in the market for enterprise-ready social business solutions. IBM’s persistent efforts towards facilitating the integration of internal and external collaboration are finally paying off. By rebranding its range of products and services as the “SmartCloud for Social Business,” it has placed them within a larger context. IT managers can now choose between a multi-client capable and a dedicated version and globally distributed data centers. Essential functions can be accessed from most mobile devices and platforms, including iOS, Android and BlackBerry.

A Shining Light: IBM Connections 4

One of the spearheads, or shining lights, in IBM’s portfolio is Connections, an all-round platform for team collaboration, networking and the exchange of knowledge. IBM released the new version 4.0 at the beginning of September.

The new product generation boasts numerous “smart” features that have been updated and expanded with an eye to pragmatism. One of the core features of the new version is the “activity stream,” a function of social software and social networks that allow activities to be syndicated across different social Web applications. The activity stream in Connections 4 not only integrates internal messages such as e-mails, public messages (status updates) and communications relating to specific projects, it can also display news and information from external systems such as SAP and platforms like Xing and Youtube. Users can initiate activities such as workflows directly from the activity stream – offering what IBM describes as “embedded experiences.” As well as making routine tasks much simpler, this kind of integrated information stream also significantly facilitates the process of searching for and analyzing data or solutions, and ultimately enhances users’ trust in these and consequently in their own performance.

Even if IBM likes to claim that the era of the e-mail is over, corporate strategists have recognized the necessity of integrating social business applications into existing e-mail systems. In keeping with its name, IBM Connections Mail accordingly enables a connection to external mail servers like IBM Lotus Notes or Microsoft Exchange. Users can access their e-mails and calendar without having to switch to another program, and new e-mails and appointments are visible at a glance on the Connections navigation bar. Thanks to these kinds of features, other PIM (Personal Information Manager) front ends are gradually losing importance and are destined to become obsolete.

As well as focusing on a user-friendly linking and display of messages, information and activities, IBM attaches great importance to smooth content management and analytical capabilities in its social business for collaboration solutions. IBM’s many years of experience and its pioneering role in this area have taught the company that social business can only deliver true added value to “the social us” (= working in a team) and “the social me” (personal organization in a dynamic environment) if the three aspects content, analytics and social networking are equally taken into account. 

Over the past few years IBM has attained – or purchased – comprehensive expertise in the area of data analysis and analytics; Cognos and SPSS are just two examples. In Connections, the Metrics function offers detailed analysis and evaluation on the use of IBM Connections applications in a company. Metrics is supported by the analytical capabilities of the IBM Cognos Business Intelligence Server, which is installed as part of Connections, and there are additional search and analysis functions that help make expertise or content available to users quickly and in high quality. 

IBM has also thought hard about a topic that is of particular significance for knowledge workers, namely the compilation and provision of content. IBM developers recognized early on working with documents often involves additional (meta-)information, such as comments. In solutions such as Microsoft’s SharePoint, such meta-information is not linked with the document, so that it is no longer available after the document has been downloaded or sent. In Connections, on the other hand, comments and discussion threads are linked to the respective document, and it is possible to create links to blogs and activities. Connections also includes a tracking function, which allows users sharing files to see when and in what way the relevant files are being accessed – a feature many other currently available solutions do not offer. In short: While the main focus of other solutions is on the document or the process, Connections places more emphasis on the aspects of sharing and expanding users’ knowledge.

SmartCloud for Social Business and Smarter Planet Initiative Offer an Integrated Concept

But IBM’s vision goes beyond individual products like Connections. It is pursuing a much more comprehensive strategy that unites products, solutions and services from various fields and is aimed at both IT managers and decision-makers in other departments such as Human Resources. The breadth of IBM’s social business approach can be seen from its recent acquisition of Kenexa, a US-based company specializing in recruiting and human resource services. The idea is to combine cloud-based applications and consultancy services to help select the best applicants for a certain job or provide human resources managers and company management with the information they need about employees and their skills so they can put together the best team for a specific project. But that is only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. The SmartCloud for Social Business portfolio offers companies a comprehensive range of collaboration tools to help make day-to-day interactions between coworkers/employees, customers/clients and business partners more effective and more efficient. The strength of SmartCloud for Social Business is that it enables people to work together seamlessly, both within and outside a company structure. IBM follows through on its belief that no man, woman, or company is an island: They are all dependent on others to provide input and accept their output. Moreover, the business process is generally subject to countless influences that go beyond fluctuations in input and output.

With SmartCloud for Social Business, IBM has launched a product that meets three important basic requirements of companies and users: collaboration, messaging, and web conferencing. It is hoping to attract new target groups as well as the “classic”, i.e. existing Lotus Notes users. Even if IBM has stayed true to its concept of repeatedly changing the names of its products during their lifecycle and thus contributing to a lack of transparency, it has not left users with existing Lotus/Domino systems out in the cold, but offers them the possibility of building on and expanding existing solutions, either in local infrastructures or in cloud scenarios. 

However, as already mentioned, IBM is not targeting only the classic clientele. It is hoping to appeal to user companies that work with solutions and platforms from other IT providers, particularly since many other companies are not yet able to offer the “social layer.” That social layer is becoming increasingly important because it allows companies to introduce comprehensive social business models in the workplace. One target group identified by IBM are users of Microsoft SharePoint. Microsoft is the dominant player in the market for office productivity solutions, and SharePoint is the world’s leading platform in this area. However, the “social layer” is conspicuously absent in Microsoft’s current portfolio. IBM can provide that missing social layer with SmartCloud for Social Business in general and Connections in particular. And indeed, more and more businesses are combining SharePoint (2010) with Connections, including well-known companies such as Bayer and Continental. Companies that have decided that SharePoint does not meet their social software requirements and are doubtful about placing their trust in young Internet companies can upgrade their existing platforms with IBM Connections and thus combine the strengths of SharePoint with those of a mature social software suite.

IBM is pursuing a broad strategy built on openness, interoperability and intelligent networking. Its developers have recognized that while networking within and between internal and external communities is important, that alone is not enough: Networking capabilities must, above all, be implemented intelligently and with users’ needs in mind. IBM’s goal is to provide these capabilities so they can be used independently of specific (mobile) devices, information sources or platforms.

Summing up

The social business software and services provided by IBM feature a combination of social networking functions and analytical components that is currently unique in the market and allows companies to gather information and interactively support the dialogues of their employees and customers. IBM’s head start is also reflected in the fact that its approach and solutions to problems and tasks often seem more mature than those of its competitors. Companies should aim to use social business tools more intensively and harness their benefits more effectively. This could give them a distinct competitive edge.