IBM Provides for the Cloud and Smart Phones

IBM has announced a new initiative, designed to provide organizations with a broad support for smart phones and cloud delivery models. In order to help enable a social business, IBM's announcement includes the release of new software to help organizations socially enable their business processes on mobile devices, software and services to assist businesses use cloud computing to enhance their business models, and plans for their next social software portfolio release.

In order to help businesses keep connected while on the go, IBM is providing social business capabilities to a broad range of tablets, smart phones, and other mobile devices by providing them with its social software portfolio. Among the platforms announced is IBM's plan to release new Lotus Sametime instant messaging clients, as well as a social client for Activity Streams, and an extension of its support for cloud-enabled mobile devices.

Furthermore, IBM's announcement includes plans to offer a cloud-based version of LotusLive Symphony, an office productivity suite that provides organizations with a social platform for cloud-based collaboration, integrated tightly with LotusLive, IBM's social business cloud service.

IBM also revealed a new framework, designed to support the development of next generation socially-enabled applications, along with new software to support the framework. Instead of an inbox, IBM provides the Activity Stream, which shows users content from social networking sites such as Twitter or LinkedIn beside their company's content, and is looking to integrate it into future releases of IBM's social collaboration portfolio, available for all market-leading mobile devices.

There are also plans for IBM to deliver new software and programs to organizations intending to become a social business using Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Sharepoint. IBM has also introduced the IBM Social Business Toolkit, a set of open standards-based API's and tutorials to help business partners and developers integrate social elements such as blogs and discussion forums into their products.

"IBM has changed the conversation to 'Social Business' - the customers and demos at Lotusphere are all focused on how social capabilities impact the way work gets done, helping to find experts, resources, and share information," says Blair Pleasant of UCStrategies. "One of the announcements that caught my eye is the Enhanced integrations of IBM social business to Microsoft Outlook and Sharepoint. This will help IBM expand beyond the Notes user base, and reach Microsoft customers that are looking for social business capabilities."

Pleasant adds, "I like the way IBM's Jeff Schick defines social business as being 'about enabling networks of people who are creating value.' That really resonated with the attendees at Lotusphere. IBM is doing a great job of getting its social business message out there, with new announcements and lots of customer testimonials."

For more information, visit www.ibm.com.