| Developer(s) | IBM |
|---|---|
| Stable release | 3.0 |
| Operating system | Cross-platform |
| Type | collaboration, web 2.0 |
| License | License |
| Website | ibm.com |
IBM Connections is a proprietary Web 2.0 social software application developed by the Lotus Software division of IBM. The goal of Lotus Connections is to empower companies to be more innovative and help them execute more quickly by using dynamic networks of co-workers, partners and customers. It provides social networking tools for businesses to use to bring together people through online tools.
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IBM Connections (or 'Connections' for short) was announced at Lotusphere 2007, and Version 1.0 shipped later that year on June 27.
| Version | Release date | Major release points |
|---|---|---|
| v1.0 | 29 June 2007 | First release of a new IBM product specially meant for social business. |
| v1.02 | 6 November 2007 | ??? |
| v2.0 | June 2008 | ??? |
| v2.5 | 28 August 2009 | Newly added functionality (wikis & files). |
| v3.0 | 24 November 2010 | Newly easily wizards for database creation and profile population, cluster funtionality installed out of the box. |
| v3.0.1 | 5 April 2011 | Name change from IBM Lotus Connections to IBM Connections, Media library functionality, updated and advanced mobility possibilities. |
IBM Connections has ten components:
At Lotusphere 2010, IBM previewed features being planned for future releases,[1][2] including
Plans have also been announced to expand cloud-based social collaboration by adding communities to LotusLive Connections in 2010[3] and to expand IBM Connections mobile support with new BlackBerry apps for IBM Connections and IBM Lotus Quickr.[4]
IBM Connections makes significant use of open standards such as ATOM and RSS to integrate with other applications and provides a REST-like API for developers.[5] Widgets can be added into IBM Connections, including those from Google Gadgets and other services as well as custom developed ones.[6]
IBM Connections is often described as the leading product in enterprise social software market.[7][8][9][10]
The ten IBM Connections components are built on a set of services according to the service-oriented architecture concept. These components take the form of J2EE applications which are hosted on IBM WebSphere Application Server. This design allows the components to be hosted independently of each other and to support very large scale deployments.
The Homepage serves as a portal for user's social collaboration. Out of the box IBM Connections provides 5 widgets[11] which can be customized by the user.
IT Administrators can add new widgets for use by users.
The Homepage module also includes a 'recent updates' display which shows changes such as new content posts and status updates which are relevant to the user. A system to update the users status via microblogging is also provided.
Profiles provides an online directory of people within an organization. People can be located in many different ways,[11] such as by
A person's profile typically contains their name, job role, base location, reporting chain and details about the IBM Connection bookmarks, activities, communities and blogs in which they participate. Profiles can also be customized and new fields added[12]
Bookmarks is a social bookmarking service which allows people to bookmark web-content, tag it, and share it. Bookmarks can be located via keyword, tags and the person who created the bookmark.
In addition to simple searching, Bookmarks can dynamically refine search results with the user identifying users or other tags of interest to them.
Bookmarks can output bookmarks via standard feeds and provides an API so that third-party tools can integrate with it.[13] As of Connections 2.0.1, the API can be used for:
Activities is a task management system which enables groups of people to easily collaborate on a task. Activities are structured in a nested tree hierarchy where entries, to-do items and sections branch off from the root activity.
Any non-section entity in an activity can contain rich-text and custom fields for files, links, text, people and dates. To-Do items can also have a due date and a person the To-do is assigned to.
Wikis are a new capability added to IBM Connections 2.5 which facilitate the collaborative creation of web content.[11]
Files is a new personal file-sharing service that is part of IBM Connections 2.5, used to upload and share files, tag them, and recommend/comment on them. .[11]
Communities enable ad-hoc and planned collaboration around a project or area of interest. A Connections Community can have its own blog, forums, bookmarks, activities, feeds,[14] member list, Wiki and Files.
Blogs provide blogging functionality for groups and individuals.
Use the Forums to start discussions about a specific topic or debate solutions to shared problems. By participating in a forum, you can exchange ideas, ask questions, and leverage the expertise of other people in your organization. Forums was added as a component in 3.0. It was previously part of the Communities component.
IBM Connections integrates into existing applications via plug-ins. Out-of-the-box, the following plugins are available and most are included for free as part of the license:
Other integration with Microsoft Sharepoint and Microsoft Office Communications Server has also been done.
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