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IBM Takes Collaboration to Mobile Tablets, Just in Time for Christmas
| Dec 9, 2011 | Collaboration Platforms
| Analyst: Brad Shimmin
Event Summary
December 7, 2011 - IBM has unveiled seven updated social networking and collaboration mobile apps specifically designed to address enterprise-class requirements. The new software, available for download from the most popular app stores, purports to take IBM's social networking, real-time collaboration and online meeting capabilities from behind the company firewall and places it into the hands of tablet users.
Quick Take
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Positive on IBM's spate of mobility announcements, which are tailor-made for tablet-oriented computing. There are no major features introduced that will significantly alter the company's overall position in the marketplace. However, a new mobile-specific developer toolkit, deeper and more consistent support across disparate mobile OSs as well as a new IBM Lotus Symphony-savvy file viewer will help the vendor better serve its existing customer base. However, these improvements also highlight current fragmentation issues across deployment models back-end applications, putting pressure on IBM to architect a more cohesive mobile strategy going forward.
• Vendor Importance: High to IBM, because the company needed to show its willingness and ability to react quickly to market trends such as the consumerization of IT. IBM is moving toward a more complete range of native Apple iOS and Google Android applications which are capable of more fully exploiting features within its back end systems such as IBM Connections, Lotus Sametime, Lotus Notes and even Lotus Symphony. This in turn makes those applications more valuable to existing and potential customers alike. It also improves the company's ability to market opposite Web- and mobile-friendly rivals such as Google, Salesforce.com, Microsoft, Jive and others.
• Market Impact: Moderate on the collaboration platform marketplace. While the mobile device landscape remains highly volatile, several notions among collaboration vendors have come to the forefront: the value of hardware-level features such as voice and video; the dominance of Android and iOS; and a continuing fascination with the touch interface and tablet form factor. With this series of announcements IBM can trade on the fact that it has ticked all three of these boxes. However, rivals can easily counter, stating that IBM is simply following the rest of market and falling into line with customer demands.
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'Tis the Season for Enterprise-Class Tablet Apps: New IBM Software Encourages Safe, Secure Social Networking
ARMONK, N.Y., Dec. 7, 2011 -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today unveiled seven new social networking and collaboration mobile apps specifically designed to address enterprise-class requirements. The new software, available for download today from the most popular app stores, takes IBM industry-leading social networking, real-time collaboration and online meeting capabilities from behind the company firewall and places it into the hands of tablet users.
The new offerings span the widest range of tablets, including the iPad. The software allows employees to more effectively collaborate and share data, images and conduct meeting and on the fly more securely as part of their everyday work experience.
The use of tablets in business is on the rise. Increasingly, employees require enterprise connectivity from their personal smartphones and tablet devices, also known as the "Bring Your Own Device" to work trend. According to IDC France, the tablet market is forecast to reach over 4.1 million in 2012, representing a 48% growth compared to 2011. A recent IBM study revealed that 73 percent of business leaders surveyed currently allow mobile devices or tablets to connect to their corporate networks.
For example, employees at global medical device manufacturer ConMed Linvatec used the IBM Lotus Notes Traveler app on iPad devices at a recent medical tradeshow. The app allowed ConMed employees to demonstrate its medical devices, collect sales leads, and send product information to prospective customers right on the spot. ConMed Linvatec is a global leader in the fields of arthroscopy, endoscopic medical video systems and powered surgical instruments.
"Millions of tablet and smart phone devices will be unwrapped this holiday season," said Alistair Rennie, general manager, social business, IBM. "The ability to play Angry Birds is fun, but being able to also securely access business applications, enterprise content and accelerate your organization will be the real gift that keeps on giving."
"As a result of using IBM collaboration software on iPad devices, we generated more leads, and acted on them sooner, than ever before," said Dale Westrate, Messaging Systems Architect for ConMed Linvatec's Largo division.
To meet the demands of the fast-growing mobile workforce, and the software developers who support them, IBM is delivering:
Social networking for iPad: Available from the Apple app store at no charge for existing IBM Connections users, the new app includes a new interface ideal for tablet devices allowing for unique document editing capabilities.
Attend Online Meetings: Employees can attend on-line meetings from their tablets anytime, anyplace. Available on Android, BlackBerry, iPad, and iPhone devices, LotusLive Meeting users can view shared presentations, chat with meeting participants, and virtually raise and lower hands from tablets and other mobile devices. IBM Sametime software users can also lead, participate in and manage browser-based meetings from their iPad or Android tablets.
Instant messaging: New mobile apps for iPad and Android enable IBM Sametime users to use tablets to take immediate action on urgent business tasks by providing one-on-one or group instant messaging, background notifications, and the ability to send photos through the chat window.
Access business documents: Available now in the Android Marketplace, IBM Lotus Symphony Viewers allow users to view any ODF-based document, spreadsheet and presentation on their Android devices. The viewers will be available for other devices soon.
Reduce calling costs: IBM Sametime Unified Telephony on tablets allows a user to initiate calls to whatever phone happens to be nearby by controlling call routing preferences and device selection as well as have his one unified number appear in caller ID.
Easier access to mail and calendar: IBM Lotus Notes Traveler now allows IBM mail users to easily add widgets to their Android home screens for quick, convenient access to mail and calendar, and allows users to call people listed in their calendar views with just one click.
IBM is also helping developers create mobile applications faster with an improved experience for the user:
Tools to build mobile apps faster and better: IBM is introducing its Mobile Technology Preview on the developerWorks website. Available for the Android mobile operating system, the platform is designed to help enterprises get started with mobile application development. These tools can be downloaded now to help foster innovation and explore capabilities that are needed to build mobile applications that extend and integrate into the enterprise.
Tool to improve the Web experience for the user: New software IBM WebSphere Portal Mobile Experience solution helps companies more easily control the content, look and feel and page navigation on mobile devices resulting in increased on-line business. Higher quality mobile Web experiences mean more repeat business, more recommendations and fewer clients lost to competitors. It is available at no charge to IBM portal customers. Although it is optimized for smartphones, it also works with tablets.
This new software is part of a suite of capabilities IBM offers to effectively address 21st century workforce trends. For example, IBM recently introduced a new mobile service that helps organizations protect against data loss and other risks caused by device theft, unauthorized access, malware, spyware, and inappropriate applications.
IBM is also advancing the use of business analytics by delivering expanded native mobile device support with IBM Cognos Mobile on the iPad. Available to try out in Apple's iTunes store, the software enables mobile workers to take their business analytics on the road whether offline or online, allowing for uninterrupted productivity.
With the recent acquisition of i2, IBM will offer software that increases the ability for law enforcement professionals to generate leads and solve cases. The technology is the most widely deployed tactical lead generation tool in the U.S., and will soon include a mobile application, COPLINK Mobile Plus, for iPad, iPhone and Android devices. COPLINK Mobile Plus can test driven by existing COPLINK customers today.
In addition to ConMed Linvatec, other global organizations including Bekins Van Lines, Cincinnati Zoo, Cummins, VCC Construction, and schools like Virginia Commonwealth University are using IBM solutions to create a more effective workforce through the use of tablets and other mobile devices.
