IBM Brings Social to Users with Updated IBM Connections Mobile Apps - Includes iPhone 5 Support

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Over the weekend, IBM updated the mobile apps for its social collaboration platform IBM Connections. The apps for Android and iOS mark the 4th release this year showing IBM's commitment and understanding of the importance of mobile in social collaboration. IBM Connections customers can download the update free of charge.

These releases round up a big week for IBM in mobile as IBM also released a new version of their instant messaging app for Android tablets.

The IBM Connections app for the iPad has become a powerful tool for me. As a remote worker, it's an essential tool to be productive and effective irrespective of where I am.

You can see the full list of new features and enhancements for the iOS app here. Here's my take of my favorite new features:

• Support for iOS 6
• Support for iPhone 5 (tall screen support)
• Infinite scrolling
• Support for IBM Connections 4.0 activity streams
• Launch third party OpenSocial gadgets
• Attach photos or videos to a status update
• Include geolocation information in a status update
• Offline access to forums you have viewed
• Offline access to Community files and forums you have viewed
• Remotely Wipe Connections app data
• Share profile information using QRCode
• Mobile Links in IBM Connection update emails now open in the app

I've also created a demo of the iPad app to showcase some of the new features:

The Android app for IBM Connections was also updated. To see a demo of the Android app, go here.

Download the apps now! You can get the free Android app from here and the free iOS app from here. Oh and keep those reviews coming!

IBM positioned as a Leader in the 2012 Magic Quadrant for Social Software in the Workplace

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Today is my 2nd year anniversary as one of the Product Managers in IBM's Social Software team and have some great news to share. Analysts at Gartner have positioned IBM in the Leaders Quadrant of the 2012 Magic Quadrant for Social Software in the Workplace. IBM’s placement is based on its ability to execute and completeness of vision. Just a few weeks ago, IBM released IBM Connections 4.0 the core of the IBM Social Business Platform.

This new report adds to the recent analyst reports from Forrester and Aragon Research which also list IBM as a Leader in their respective research reports. IBM Connections has also been listed as the worldwide market share leader by IDC.

I'm extremely proud to be part of the IBM Connections team! If you want to learn more about IBM Connections, check out this quick 3 minute video created by my colleagueSuzanne Livingston:

Check out the other 9 videos that Suzanne has created. These are great "shorts" you can easily share with your colleagues and even embed directly in Connections to show users what's new in IBM Connections 4.0 and they cover the different components of Connections including Mobile.

Infographic: The ROI of Social Business with IBM Connections

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I stumbled upon this infographic on Twitter yesterday and since I'm a big fan of infographics, I wanted to share this one. Thanks to my colleague Pierre Fevrier for creating this one (and check out the others too!).

Make sure you also check out the other Infographics posted in Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ibmsocialbizeurope/with/7988127813/#photo_7988127813

Calling Developers - Build Apps For The Best Enterprise Social Platform

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A couple of weeks ago, Business Insider posted a story on how startups are ignoring a $500 Billion market. At the TechCrunch Disrupt conference Jim Goetz, a venture capitalist for Sequoia Capital was quoted as saying:

"It's shocking we don't see more engineers and entrepreneurs interested in enterprise,"

To that end, I'm happy to announce that IBM will be sponsoring a Social Business App Dev Workshop. The goal of the workshop is to get application developers, partners, and ISVs up to speed on how to develop apps for IBM's social business platform, currently the #1 in market share world wide.

I've shared before how to build apps for IBM Connections and with IBM now fully behind OpenSocial and ActivityStrea.ms we thought it would be a good idea to bring developers together and get them ramped up very quickly.  

We also published an article yesterday to help guide developers on how to create OpenSocial gadgets for IBM Connections 4.0. As a developer this presents a good opportunity as OpenSocial gadgets would run in multiple places, not just in IBM's OpenSocial container.

Here's a couple of highlights from the event:

• Learn about the social platform using the common language of the web developer - HTML and JavaScript.
• Hands-on lab exercises will cover such topics as IBM’s new SDK for web developers, ICS containers, and cloud integration.
• Leave aware of how to tap the expertise of the community, and engage further to continue building skills with Social Application Development.
• Learn how to build an embedded experience that integrates with IBM Connections 4 using OpenSocial gadgets.

So if you don't want to miss on a $500 Billion market, register for the workshop here.

Social Collaboration Tools Help Eliminate the Guesswork

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Today, I wanted to share another demo video of IBM Connections 4.0. I'm hoping that you can pick and choose different videos based on the applicable use case.

This video focuses on our mobile capabilities and how you can form Communities to help employees eliminate the guesswork. Communities in IBM Connections 4.0 are extremely powerful and can solve most team collaboration needs. There's even a full reporting capability with over 100 reports to help community managers understand what's valuable inside the community. With IBM Connections, IBM's social business solution, you can now create vibrant networks and communities with powerful social analytics and metrics.

Your organization can now:

• Uncover insights from social analytics to deepen relationships.
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• Drive positive and productive adoption using powerful out-of-the-box and customizable reporting capabilities.
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• Discover and leverage top contributors and top content within your business communities and networks.
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• Keep customers, partners and employees engaged, contributing and valued.

Check out the video below:

For other IBM Connections 4.0 demo videos, check out:

• IBM Connections 4.0 Overview
• Replay of What's New in Connections 4.0 Greenhouse Webcast (this provides a deeper dive into 4.0)
• How Social Streams Help Me Stay Focused and Productive
• How to Grow Revenue Using Social Collaboration Platforms
• New IBM Connections Desktop Plug-Ins for Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook and Windows Explorer

Enjoy!