Some highlights/announcement from Connect 2014:
IBM will consolidate the collaboration applications under one name, “Connections.” Example, Sametime will be rebranded Connections Chat (the instant messaging portion) and Connections Meetings (the meetings portion). Based on what I heard from the Product Managers in this area during “Ask the Product Managers,” it will be some time before they start using the new branding. It will take you and I much longer.
From PCWorld, comes this:
This means that the Connections bundle will include the Notes/Domino email platform, Docs office productivity apps and Sametime tools for IM, audio/video communications and Web meetings.
As those products get updated this year, they will be rebranded with the Connections name and offered as part that suite, whose core ESN software lets users create employee profiles, blogs, wikis, discussion forums and the like, as well as share, co-edit and comment on files and documents.
“Those products work together today. They’re fully integrated, but now the branding will provide clarity and focus and highlight all these integrated capabilities,” said Kramer Reeves, IBM Messaging and Collaboration Solutions director.
Consolidating these integrated products under a single brand umbrella will help IBM show prospective customers what it has to offer against competing suites like Microsoft’s Office 365 and Google’s Apps, as well as against vendors with narrower offerings, like Box and Dropbox in cloud storage and Jive Software in ESN.
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For Connections, the following were announced:
- File Sync which lets you synchronize files between your Connections Files repository, your desktop, and your mobile devices. You can pick and choose which files you would like to sync and differential sync is automatic to save bandwidth and time. File Sync with mobile devices is available today in SmartCloud. This is very much needed and will keep users in Connections instead of using competing products. It received a rousing round of approval from the delegates in the OGS.
- Coming in Connections 4.5 IFR2, Ephox EditLive. A demo can be seen here, along with additional information.
- Focus on user engagement. You’ll be able to personalize your activity stream and navigation bar and filter for content that is most important to you right now based on what you’re working on.
- Search your activity stream, set up your real-time notification center and mark favorite content.
- File galleries in Communities where you can preview files before choosing to download them and where you can manage, organize and share files visually.
- Community folders which can be shared onto the overview page and browsed
- @mentions everywhere
- Secure external file sharing from a single internal instance of Connections installed on premises. External people will see only the information they were given access to, they won’t see public profiles and public communities. (Secure external file sharing is a feature of SmartCloud Connections today)
Coming in Traveler this year:
- Ability to sync the trash folder with the server
- Response indicators in inbox (reply and forward icons)
- Sending S/MIME encrypted mail
- Sametime awareness in the inbox
- Integration with Connections services (Files, Communities, Activities)
- Enhanced Support on Windows Phone for Calendaring, ToDos
- DLP enhancements
- Certificate-based authentication
- New native Notes Traveler for iOS which allows cross-app integration and more features
- Redesigned Android Traveler app
Coming in Sametime (oops, I mean Connections Chat, Connections Meetings):
- Implementing additional on-premises Sametime 9 functionality in SmartCloud
- Sharepoint 2013 integration
- Chat logging for persistent chat rooms
- More continuous video streams, video recording, optimized Citrix VDI support, content sharing with video, intelligent cascading MCUs
- Mapping meeting management features to Connections
- Integration with IBM Docs
- Mobile API’s
- Windows phone and tablet support
- Ability to receive incoming calls via the mobile softphone
Of course, MailNext was announced. Screen shots and my thoughts can be found here.
Gregg Eldred 