IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a new initiative to help organisations become social businesses with the broadest support for smartphones and cloud delivery models.
With today's news, IBM is introducing new software, services and programs that will help organisations integrate social networking concepts into business processes to accelerate collaboration, deepen customer relationships, generate new ideas faster, and enable a more effective workforce.
According to Ravi Bhat, IBM Software Group Executive for Sub-Saharan Africa, a shift is occurring in the enterprise. “The adoption of social software is rapidly becoming a vital business tool, enabling organisations to transform virtually every part of their business operations from marketing, customer service and sales, to product development and human resources.” Social business offers the world of possibility that occurs when all of the energy and opportunities that have been generated around consumer models, such as Facebook and Twitter, are focused, and brought to bear on business challenges.
IBM's 2010 CEO Study indicated that 57% of companies that have invested in social business tools have outperformed their peers, citing collaboration as having a direct impact on their organisation's growth (1). In fact, social business software is rapidly gaining momentum in the enterprise. The market for worldwide social platforms is expected to increase by 33% in 2011 to $630 million, and triple to $1.863 billion by 2014. (2) With the burgeoning mobile workforce expected to reach more than $1.19 billion by 2013, the need to help clients collaborate on the fly is growing. (3) By bringing social business to the broadest range of mobile devices, IBM is enabling the next-generation workforce to collaborate beyond e-mail to include instant messaging, Web meetings, and social functions such as blogs, wikis communities and activity streams.
IBM also introduced its intention to extend its social software portfolio to the most successful mobile devices, including tablets, such as RIM's BlackBerry and Playbook, iPad, iPhone, Google Android and Nokia devices. For example, on these platforms, IBM announced its plans to release new Lotus Sametime instant messaging clients, a social client for Activity Streams and extended its support for new mobile devices in the cloud.
Whether accessing applications on premise, from a mobile device, or in the cloud, social businesses of all sizes need to communicate and collaborate on the fly across a global network of clients, partners and employees.
To fully enable a social business, IBM is announcing:
* New software to help organisations socially enable their business processes using the most successful mobile devices, including tablets, such as RIM's BlackBerry and PlayBook, iPad, iPhone, Google Android, and Nokia devices.
* New software and services to help businesses embrace the social business models through cloud computing, including a technology preview of IBM's cloud-based office productivity suite.
* The plans for the next release of IBM's social software portfolio to enable social business, including a social business framework for software developers.
IBM details next release of social software portfolio
IBM today unveiled a new framework to support how the next generation of socially enabled applications will be developed and introduced new software to make that vision a reality. For example, IBM is reinventing the inbox with "Activity Steam" - a single location that allows users to view and interact with content from Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, SAP and other third parties alongside their company's content. IBM is looking to integrate the Activity Stream into a future release of IBM's social collaboration portfolio accessible from all market leading mobile devices, including tablets.
IBM also announced plans to deliver new software and programs for organisations using Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Sharepoint that want to become a social business. For example, a future release of IBM Connections is expected to greatly enhance its integration to Microsoft Outlook and provide full integration to Microsoft Sharepoint sites.
To help software developers create social business solutions, IBM today introduced the IBM Social Business Toolkit, a set of open standards based APIs and tutorials for business partners and developers looking to integrate social elements such as profiles, wikis, blogs and discussion forums into their products.
IBM is also introducing a new licensing model for customers eager to embrace cloud computing. With Domino Utility Server for LotusLive, customers can now shift, develop and deploy collaborative applications onto the IBM Cloud, complementing their use of LotusLive Notes. Accessible from IBM Lotus Notes and other client interfaces, Domino Utility Server for LotusLive provides flexible licensing and deployment options from the IBM cloud or other cloud providers, and will be available in the first half of 2011 for cloud or on-premise use.
To continue the dialogue around social business, IBM will host a Web-based Social Business Jam from February 8-11, 2011, where thousands of leaders from around the world will pool their knowledge and experiences to examine the next generation of business. Social Business Jam participants will cooperatively explore the value of social technology in business, its challenges, and the management system required to drive a social transformation resulting in a blueprint for organisations to help them become a social business. To register, visit http://www.ibm.com/social/businessjam.
For more information, product images, pictures from Lotusphere, and more, please visit http://www.ibm.com/press/lotusphere2011.
Sources:
(1) http://www-935.ibm.com/services/us/ceo/ceostudy2010/index.html
(2) IDC's Worldwide Collaborative Applications 2010-2014 Forecast Update: Market Poised for Slight Rebound Within Next Five Years (#224269, August 2010)
(3) http://www.idc.com/about/viewpressrelease.jsp?containerId=prUS22214110§ionId=null&elementId=null&pageType=SYNOPSIS
(4) IDC, Worldwide and Regional Public IT Cloud Services 2010-2014 Forecast, Doc.#223549, June 2010
(5) http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ccid-consulting-chinas-linux-market-up-by-309-in-2007q1-58031077.html
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IBM's statements regarding its plans, directions, and intent are subject to change or withdrawal without notice at IBM's sole discretion. Information regarding potential future products is intended to outline our general product direction and it should not be relied on in making a purchasing decision. The information mentioned regarding potential future products is not a commitment, promise, or legal obligation to deliver any material, code or functionality. Information about potential future products may not be incorporated into any contract. The development, release, and timing of any future features or functionality described for our products remains at our sole discretion.
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