• Gartner, Carol Rozell: "I attended Lotusphere 2012 this week. Actually, I attended LotusConnect, the event focused on letting customers tell their stories about how IBM's products service the business. The case studies from notable organizations such as TD Bank, Children's Hospital and Caterpillar were compelling. Some implementations were further along than others, but all of the speakers spoke enthusiastically about the promise of social that ignited their projects and the subsequent benefits they are receiving.", Lotusphere Learnings, http://blogs.gartner.com/carol_rozwell/2012/01/20/lotusphere-learnings/


  • Forrester, Michael Barnes: "So I made the trek from Singapore to Orlando for Lotusphere the week of January 15th and it proved well worth the time and effort. It was actually one of the best events of its kind I’ve attended in years – and I’ve attended loads. IBM expanded the focus well beyond the ‘legacy’ Lotus brand. In fact, this was a social business event from start to finish, with IBM linking its much broader social computing portfolio to business process improvement and value creation.

    Evolving into a social business applies to all organizations – any process that relies on people will fundamentally change. IBM made a solid case that business transformation is not only possible but mandatory. A social business excels at discovering and sharing new ideas – fundamentally changing how people work and therefore how companies operate. Companies not embracing this change will get left behind.

    IBM’s vision for social business – business process disruption is inevitable. Focusing heavily on a process-centric view, IBM downplayed tools and technology. Per IBM, social business is the intersection of social technologies and front-office business processes – as significant to top-line revenue growth over the next decade as SOA has been to back-office business processes and bottom line cost savings over the last decade.

    IBM’s positioning as a social business enabler – it takes a platform. Social initiatives impact a cross-section of IT functions, including; collaboration, structured and unstructured data management, analytics, application integration, process management, and enterprise content management. Instead of pushing the Lotus platform specifically though, IBM is seeking to surround, augment and extend existing IT infrastructure and solutions. This includes Notes/Domino but also Microsoft Outlook and other email/calendaring systems. Support for OpenSocial standards is key here." IBM Lotusphere 2012-- What's in a Name?,     http://blogs.forrester.com/michael_barnes/12-02-01-ibm_lotusphere_2012_whats_in_a_name


  • MWD's Angela Ashendon: "All in all, it’s fair to say that Lotusphere has come a long way in just a couple of years: what was once an intensely techy event, focused on product demos and unquestionably the territory of developers, has in the space of a couple of years transformed smoothly into a business-focused event, aimed at engaging with customers and partners at a strategic, enterprise-wide level, to help and support them in bringing about business change enabled by the social revolution. This is a very different approach to IBM’s biggest competitors in this space – Microsoft and Google – which both continue to position at a more technical level. There is still work to be done to tie up IBM’s top level social strategy with its product portfolio, but the company is investing significant resources in this strategy, and is benefiting from its incredible traction with IBM Connections. Big ambitions, but IBM’s looking in good shape to succeed here." A New, Confident IBM at Lotusphere 2012- http://www.mwdadvisors.com/blog/2012/01/a-new-confident-ibm-at-lotusphere-2012.html

  • Aragon Research, Jim Lundy: "This wasn’t your Father’s Lotusphere. There was a buzz from the beginning and IBM Executives, such as Sandy Carter and Alistair Rennie were not only on stage but interacting with attendees on Twitter – a lot. The IBM Executives, particularly Mike Rhodin and his GMs were all on Message. The products appeared to be better integrated and the emphasis on Lotus branding was softened. Social was IBM’s lead message and it is clear that Connections has advanced significantly over versions from as recent as two years ago. What was most noticeable about Connections and other products is that Customers like TD Bank, Colgate and Children’s Hospital Boston did most of the talking during the event.
    Lotusphere and IBM Connect were just hints of what appears to be a re-invigorated IBM Software Group. While known for some clever software acquisitions over the years, IBM is also demonstrating that it is innovating with organically developed products like Connections and Watson." Summarizing Lotusphere in Three Words: Social, Mobile and Watson, http://aragonresearch.com/archives/3148
  • Constellation Research, Alan Leposky: "Overall I'm quite impressed by both the technology and the messages IBM is sending. It's great to see the entire company working together to create platforms that can help transform organizations. This is a really good thing for customers as they are now truly buying from IBM, not just one small division. While IBM may not be the first to market, the least expensive nor the easiest to install/configure/manage, one thing they certainly do well is articulate the business value of social business. The customer reference stories are excellent. Toronto Dominion Bank (TD), Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), Children's Hospital Boston... these and many more are wonderful case studies on companies who have dramatically improved their organizations by becoming a social business. Plus, mobile access is a first class player, not an after thought. IBM is doing a great job of thinking about how analytics can transform business processes and is also improving the commitment and recognition of business partners." My POV on Lotusphere 2012, http://www.alanlepofsky.net/alepofsky/alanblog.nsf/dx/my-pov-on-the-lotusphere-2012-opening-general-session
  • CurrentAnalysis, Brad Shimmin: "We are taking a very positive stance on the family of product announcements made by IBM at its annual Lotusphere customer/partner show. The vendor has demonstrated a focused momentum toward a well-thought out vision for the social enterprise. While underlying cross-product disparities and complexities remain, the company's newly announced efforts to consolidate its cloud offerings, couple synergistic products and unify the user experience itself keeps the market leader ahead of its rivals in terms of both vision and technology. The company has also bested rival Microsoft in prioritizing and delivering analytics-infused enterprise social software capable of transforming how companies empower employees and intact with customers and partners." CurrentAnalysis Report: IBM Lotusphere: IBM Transforms the Enterprise through Social Networking, January 2012
  • dBrn, Michael F. Finneran: "IBM goes wide and deep on mobility, stating while "social" was the central theme at Lotusphere, IBM clearly has its sights set on mobility. Most UC vendors have one mobile "thing", whereas IBM has a mobile product line; IBM doesn’t believe in doing things in a small way. Of course, in each of the areas it's addressing (MDM, mobile security, mobile app development, etc.) IBM will be going up against a raft of established players, and there’s still a long way to go in terms of rationalizing and rounding out the product line. However, only Sybase appears to have a breadth of product offerings to rival IBM’s, and their offerings do not extend into mobile UC clients. Mobility managers with large numbers of mobile devices and applications to support, particularly those in companies with an investment in Lotus Notes, should certainly keep IBM in their game plan." IBM Goes Deep on Mobility, http://www.nojitter.com/post/232500277/ibm-goes-wide-and-deep-on-mobility?pgno=1
  • Dow Brook Research, Larry Hawes: "While there is more work to be done, IBM should be proud of the next-generation interaction platform it is bringing to market.Lotusphere 2012 demonstrated that IBM is in good position to be a provider of choice for social business software. The work that they've done over the last year strongly differentiates their interaction platform and should positively affect its adoption by customers. IBM's refusal to acknowledge the old, limiting tradeoff between platform complexity and user experience should accelerate the consolidation of the Enterprise Social Software market in the second half of 2012. It may also more firmly establish IBM as a leader in the Web Experience software category and spark renewed interest in its Notes/Domino messaging and Sametime unified communications offerings." Lotusphere 2012: IBM Demonstrates the Power of the Platform Simplified, http://www.dowbrook.com/content/lotusphere-2012-ibm-demonstrates-power-platform-simplified
  • Forrester, Henry Dewing: "Every IBM executive that I heard present or spoke with had one thing in mind: how to help customers evolve the culture of business from one where employees hoard information and rely on their own ability to solve problems to get themselves and their firm ahead to one where sharing information and insight enables better decision-making and better customer service. Over two and a half days, I talked to (or heard presentations from) dozens of companies leveraging social technologies to accelerate their business. All of these companies leveraged social tools from IBM, but the results were ultimately driven by employees adapting to a culture of sharing and mutual accountability. Engaging with peers, customers, or suppliers in human ways to solve problems and create solutions is the key to creating value — social platforms are just a tool." Lotusphere. Business. Made Social. http://blogs.forrester.com/henry_dewing/12-01-19-lotusphere_business_made_social
  • Forrester, Michael Barnes: "So I made the trek from Singapore to Orlando for Lotusphere the week of January 15th and it proved well worth the time and effort. It was actually one of the best events of its kind I’ve attended in years – and I’ve attended loads. IBM expanded the focus well beyond the ‘legacy’ Lotus brand. In fact, this was a social business event from start to finish, with IBM linking its much broader social computing portfolio to business process improvement and value creation.

    Evolving into a social business applies to all organizations – any process that relies on people will fundamentally change. IBM made a solid case that business transformation is not only possible but mandatory. A social business excels at discovering and sharing new ideas – fundamentally changing how people work and therefore how companies operate. Companies not embracing this change will get left behind.

    IBM’s vision for social business – business process disruption is inevitable. Focusing heavily on a process-centric view, IBM downplayed tools and technology. Per IBM, social business is the intersection of social technologies and front-office business processes – as significant to top-line revenue growth over the next decade as SOA has been to back-office business processes and bottom line cost savings over the last decade.

    IBM’s positioning as a social business enabler – it takes a platform. Social initiatives impact a cross-section of IT functions, including; collaboration, structured and unstructured data management, analytics, application integration, process management, and enterprise content management. Instead of pushing the Lotus platform specifically though, IBM is seeking to surround, augment and extend existing IT infrastructure and solutions. This includes Notes/Domino but also Microsoft Outlook and other email/calendaring systems. Support for OpenSocial standards is key here." IBM Lotusphere 2012-- What's in a Name?, http://blogs.forrester.com/michael_barnes/12-02-01-ibm_lotusphere_2012_whats_in_a_name
  • Frost & Sullivan, Jake Wengroff: "IBM Connections was actually borne out of IBM’s own internal research labs. This impressed me: from the lab to the client. I had a chance to have a walk-through of a makeshift version of IBM Research’s Center for Social Business. I fully expect that at least half will make their way to users’ desktops and mobile devices within the next two years. For innovation in social, I’m watching IBM, and so should you." Lotusphere Touts Social Business-- But What About Social Media? http://bit.ly/x5bSwB
  • Frost & Sullivan, Rob Arnold:"IBM is effectively bringing to bear its content management, analytics, collaboration, SOA and other assets, along with its strong services capabilities and partner ecosystem to create social business solutions that empower change management and transform business processes. This is approach is creating clear differentiation for IBM—more than was possible in a purely UC-centric approach. And with the burgeoning social business opportunity, IBM is leveraging capabilities that provide it with clear advantages over others that are vying for a claim of the emerging space, including Cisco, Google, Jive, Microsoft, and others. IBM is not abandoning UC—the company is leveraging UC to enable social communications".
  • Gartner, Carol Rozell: "I attended Lotusphere 2012 this week. Actually, I attended LotusConnect, the event focused on letting customers tell their stories about how IBM's products service the business. The case studies from notable organizations such as TD Bank, Children's Hospital and Caterpillar were compelling. Some implementations were further along than others, but all of the speakers spoke enthusiastically about the promise of social that ignited their projects and the subsequent benefits they are receiving.", Lotusphere Learnings, http://blogs.gartner.com/carol_rozwell/2012/01/20/lotusphere-learnings/
  • IDC, Michael Fauscette: "The integration and federated user interface in the updated version of [IBM] Connections brings value to IBM’s increasing involvement in social business."-- Information Management, http://www.information-management.com/news/IBM-social-cloud-collaboration-IDC-10021798-1.html?zkPrintable=true
  • IDC, Michael Fauscette: "The final speaker (at Lotusphere 2012), Dr Jeffery Burns of Children's Hospital Boston, was the real surprise. The case study he provided might be the best example of the power of the social web and the three C's of social business; content, collaboration and community, that I've heard. Dr Burns, working with IBM, championed and built out a community of experts scattered around the globe, with a method to provide real time collaboration for dealing with unique illnesses and a way to collect content for reuse by other physicians for learning new techniques for treating their patients. The real time community links doctors and hospitals around the world and makes the "right" expertise available at the right place and time, virtually. The end result, saving children's lives by sharing knowledge and skill through community." Lotusphere 2012, http://www.mfauscette.com/
  • MWD's Angela Ashendon: "All in all, it’s fair to say that Lotusphere has come a long way in just a couple of years: what was once an intensely techy event, focused on product demos and unquestionably the territory of developers, has in the space of a couple of years transformed smoothly into a business-focused event, aimed at engaging with customers and partners at a strategic, enterprise-wide level, to help and support them in bringing about business change enabled by the social revolution. This is a very different approach to IBM’s biggest competitors in this space – Microsoft and Google – which both continue to position at a more technical level. There is still work to be done to tie up IBM’s top level social strategy with its product portfolio, but the company is investing significant resources in this strategy, and is benefiting from its incredible traction with IBM Connections. Big ambitions, but IBM’s looking in good shape to succeed here." A New, Confident IBM at Lotusphere 2012- http://www.mwdadvisors.com/blog/2012/01/a-new-confident-ibm-at-lotusphere-2012.html
  • Nemartes, Irwin Lazar: "Social tools are likely to impact your unified communications plans by changing the end-users' desktop environment. In addition, the shift to mobile devices for communications and collaboration is in full-swing. Get out in front of these trends by understanding the impact of social initiatives in your organization, integration capabilities and approaches among the various social business platform vendors, and plan for greater reliance on mobile devices." Inside Lotusphere, http://www.nojitter.com/post/232400454/inside-lotusphere
  • Ovum, Richard Edward: "Existing users of IBM Lotus software should be aggressive in their adoption of IBM’s enterprise social software, as Ovum believes it can be used to competitive advantage in a business world that is currently dominated by out-of-date, less capable offerings. Organizations that are considering alternatives to Microsoft’s collaboration stack should take a good look at IBM’s business social software, as it integrates well with Microsoft Office/SharePoint and offers empowering social analytics capabilities. Smaller businesses and institutions should consider IBM SmartCloud for Social Business (formerly LotusLive), as its pricing is competitive and its functionality is excellent.” IBM links, social, mobile, cloud, http://ovum.com/2012/01/25/ibm-links-social-mobile-and-cloud/
  • Ovum, Richard Edwards: "At IBM Lotusphere, we were shown a case study in which users started their own social enterprise network. So even if an IT leader doesn't implement a network, if the employees find it beneficial to themselves then there are ways around it. In regards to the future of social analytics, currently businesses that are looking at social enterprise networks are focused on access and appearance but eventually they will think about the kinds of insight they can gain from the software."-- (UK) Computing: Analysis: Is there a need for social, analytics in the enterprise? http://www.computing.co.uk/ctg/analysis/2140073/analysis-social-analytics-enterprise
  • Pierre Aucoin Consultants, Olivier Rafal: "Last year in Orlando, during Lotusphere, the annual Lotus event, we could see previews of what socbiz would translate into. I came back this year, hoping we could see actual products in action… and here they are. At least, most of them, even if some tools are still in beta version. What’s important is that IBM built the Social business products with new ways of working and creating value in mind. It’s not just adding “social” tools on top an old collaborative environment. What I see here is really about doing business in a smarter way. It means leveraging collective intelligence throughout organizations, but also engage with partners and customers, analyze social media feeds, and empower every user within a company by giving him the right information in the right context."IBM is Making Social Business a Reality, http://blog.pac-online.com/2012/01/ibm-is-making-social-business-a-reality/
  • Redmonk, Stephen O’Grady: “It’s what the analytics side of I.B.M. is doing with social media that is new and compelling. I.B.M has the early lead in marrying the two, social media tools and analytics."-- New York Times: I.B.M. Makes Its Social Computing Strategy Smarter, January 16, 2012, http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/16/i-b-m-makes-its-social-computing-strategy-smarter/
  • Robust Cloud, Larry Carvalho: "All in all, the announcement suggested that IBM paid close attention to customer feedback, feature requests and requirements while developing the latest iteration of its social enterprise suite. While the company has many point products in the social enterprise space, its new social business software suite brings all these products under a common platform, making them easier for companies implement. Delivery of this platform both on-premise and on the cloud helps customers pick and choose the appropriate capabilities based on their needs." --GigaOM Pro: Guest Post: Notes from Lotusphere and thoughts on IBM, http://pro.gigaom.com/2012/01/guest-post-notes-from-lotusphere-and-thoughts-on-ibm/
  • Saugatuck, Bruce Guptill:“ As regards SmartCloud, IBM has developed and is delivering solid and consistent articulation of a still-improving cross-offering, cross-technology, cross-application platform approach to enable and deliver Cloud-based software and business services.
    While technology and service holes exist in the overall portfolio, and wrinkles remain to be worked out regarding interoperabilities and integration, IBM is one of the few vendors, especially Master Brands, with a coherent and viable strategy in this manner.
    The same holds true of IBM’s “Social Business” mantra. The messaging, interfaces, and positioning are increasingly consistent across the entire SWG portfolio, and their articulation is pragmatic and (almost) hype-free. ” Cloud+Social IT Serendipity Implies Increased Management Challenges
    http://saugatucktechnology.com/Blog/Entry/cloud-social-it-serendipity-implies-increased-management-challenges.html
  • SMB Group, Laurie McCabe: "Overall, I believe that IBM is moving in the right direction, both in terms of style and substance. If it can create some strong brand awareness, take a bit more of the friction of the user consideration and adoption process, and fuel SMBs’ understanding of how collaboration and social business impact business results, it should make good headway in this market." More Than a Name Change: IBM Rebrands LotusLive as IBM SmartCloud for Social Business, http://wp.me/ppxlm-v1
  • The Sovos Group, Sameer Patel: "Connections Next embraces the “me-web”: "IBM in my opinion has made great strides towards understanding access to and the interplay between content, data, process and human connection that gets us on the path of social finally meaning business. All up, IBM’s advancements with Connections is fantastic and given the play it got on the main stage, it would be shocking if the application doesn’t deliver as advertised later this year. Arguably this is one of the more comprehensive offerings in the social software space. I feel that this is one incarnation of social business that has a shot at making social, truly mean business." IBM Lotusphere 2012: The Old Lotus Has Wilted, http://www.enterpriseirregulars.com/44933/ibm-lotusphere-2012-the-old-lotus-has-wilted/
  • Top Dog, Karen Hobert: "It's clear that IBM has spent a lot of time considering its Social Business marketing strategy and how to dovetail a re-branding of the increasingly thread-worn Lotus marque. That consideration is showing up as a more focused IBM that is betting on a branding trifecta: Social: more seamless integration of social tools with productivity tools and enterprise information, Mobile: consistent access and experience on different devices and Connect: information and people through a range of communication and collaboration experience.
    Not only is this a message customers (i.e., buyers) can hang their hat on, but it's competitively targeted at IBM's rival's weaknesses. This is most evident when looking at Microsoft's 2011 strategy that has been marked by an anemic social message, the inability to disrupt the mobile market (although WM 7.5 is getting some good press traction), and siloed productivity tools. In the IBM realm it's "Game On!" challenging competitors to join the scrimmage with IBM's new rules.” IBM's Social Business Gambit, http://khobert.blogspot.com/2012/01/ibms-social-business-gambit.html
  • Wainhouse Research, Andy Nilssen: "In many ways this Lotusphere indicated that IBM’s plan for the trifecta of Social Business / Cloud / Mobility is beyond vision and well into implementation—and delivering results. The conference featured several top name customer testimonials on the value delivered (such as the TD Bank Group). Note also that, while UC is no longer center stage (as it was 4-5 years ago), UC has become an essential component—and relegated to the better position of being a supporting “feature” that is integrated into the Social Business offering. We also note the “reining in” of Lotus solutions—and the Lotus brand. What were once unproven, leading edge technologies from Lotus now play an essential role as mainstream IBM offerings and are being branded as such." Lotusphere 2012: It's All About Social Business...Oh, and Cloud...and Mobile, http://www.wainhouse.com/files/wrb-13/WRB-1302.pdf