Today IBM IBM is
introducing new cloud and mobile-enabled social business software and service
capabilities which will allow line of business executives to quickly move
their business processes into the cloud to drive better decision making and
increase productivity.
For example, using new mobile file synch capabilities, line of business
leaders in sales can update a customer presentation on their iPad in
real-time, incorporating feedback from a meeting that just ended. The
executive can then synch the newest version into the cloud to ensure the
entire team has access to the latest document. At the same time, customer
service leaders can launch audio and video based desktop and mobile
conferences to review the latest training materials with their global team in
order to improve service to customers.
Social networking has had a profound effect on business and when combined with
cloud delivery models and new mobile device capabilities it can radically
transform an organization. By bringing social and mobile devices into the
cloud, businesses have the opportunity to empower employees to work more
effectively, collaboratively and securely from any location in order to create
larger more effective global workforces.
"The one-two social and cloud combination has not only delivered an increase
in productivity with our own workforce, but our clients are also reaping the
benefits," said Pamela Webb, SVP, Business Services, SafeGuard World
International, which provides globally managed payroll services. "The ability
to actively engage and have real-time visibility to project progress in a
secure environment really gives our clients confidence in both the
implementation process and our organization."
Highlights of the new advanced social, mobile, mail and meetings capabilities
available in the IBM SmartCloud for Social Business include:
o IBM SmartCloud Connections includes new features, such as mobile file
synch and share. Now any employee can access the cloud and share important
documents in the way that works best for them, whether online or offline,
on their smartphone or tablet, desktop application or browser. For
example, by making it easy to share documents on the go, product
development teams can speed innovation and bring new products to market
more quickly. Forrester Research recently recognized IBM as a leader in
file sync and share platforms according to the July 2013 report, The
Forrester Wave™: File Sync And Share Platforms, Q3 2013*.
o IBM SmartCloud Connections includes new community features such as social
bridging. Social bridging presents a single view of social content from
related communities, whether inside or outside the organizations. Now, for
example, an internal marketing community will have access to valuable
discussions and content being shared by partners and customers in other
communities, all presented in a single unified view. IBM SmartCloud also
offers the industry's only guest model which lets employees easily extend
collaboration to partners, clients and any others outside the business.
o IBM SmartCloud Docs brings traditional office productivity tools into the
social realm. IBM SmartCloud Docs lets employees work more efficiently by
letting them create, share and collaboratively edit documents,
spreadsheets and presentations in real-time. SmartCloud Docs also delivers
the industry's most social set of Web editing tools that include social
commenting, discussions, author presence and revision management, all
available through the cloud on browsers and mobile devices such as the
iPad.
o IBM SmartCloud Notes provides the industry's broadest set of social
capabilities, all presented in the context of your mail experience. With
IBM SmartCloud Notes employees can easily move between social tools
including communities, projects they are working on and files they are
sharing, all in a unified dashboard. This is made possible through a new
intuitive web interface, enhanced mail and calendar addressing options,
improved workflow for faster scheduling of meetings, single click access
to all messaging and greater administrator governance and control than
ever.
"Successful workforces today are fueled by powerful social technologies that
give employees access to vital information and the insights of colleagues
while on the go," said Alistair Rennie, general manager, social business, IBM.
"We are giving businesses the opportunity to forever change how employees work
through new powerful features that allow them easily to remain connected and
productive from anywhere."
IBM is also announcing the availability of IBM SmartCloud for Social Business
on SoftLayer's industry leading Infrastructure in a new Amsterdam data center,
along with four new on-boarding services that help customers quickly move to
the cloud. For example, IBM is offering a new cloud-based hybrid server
deployment option for companies that allows them to bridge on-premises and
cloud with a single administration console while also accelerating their
transition from weeks and months into hours with no hardware investment.
Today more than 9,000 cloud clients, including Sika AG and SafeGuard World
International, and 75 percent of the Fortune 100 are transforming their
business operations with IBM enterprise social software and the momentum
continues to grow as companies turn to IBM SmartCloud.
Sika AG, a specialty chemicals company based in Switzerland, needed to share
information faster among its employees across more than 80 countries as well
as with its suppliers and customers. With IBM SmartCloud for Social Business,
Sika can give 11,500 users across all lines of business operations an easy way
to share ideas, improve productivity, fuel business innovation and more
effectively reach customers and suppliers to boost sales, all while
substantially lowering IT costs.
"Initiated by our market intelligence department we started a social business
adoption pilot with 200 employees that quickly expanded to some 3000 users.
This pilot generated high user satisfaction and clearly showed us the value of
social business for Sika," said Andreas Kissling, Head Sika Group IT.
"Choosing an IBM social collaboration solution from the cloud for all our
employees is now the next step in Sika's evolution towards a globally
integrated enterprise."
Today SafeGuard employees in product management are transforming business
operations with IBM SmartCloud for Social Business. Specifically SafeGuard is
working with IBM and business partner Trilog Group to respond faster to
potential issues that might arise during client implementations or product
development and marketing processes. Now the company can mitigate risk and
improve accountability and communications between departments and employees
who are using the integrated solution. The combined IBM and Trilog ProjExec
solution is a strong factor in decreasing Safeguard's time to revenue through
a 20 percent reduction in implementation time.
In addition to the new IBM SmartCloud offerings, IBM today is also unveiling
Sametime 9. Employees can now engage experts in real-time, shifting from a
simple instant message, to a multi-way voice or video call, to an online
meeting, all from within their social environment. New features include a
streamlined user experience that makes collaboration easy and high definition
video conferencing to help connect globally dispersed employees and teams.
These new features are all combined with the industry's leading e-meeting
experience which saves customers critical phone minutes and helps to reduce
travel costs and time. Sametime 9 is built on open standards, which makes it
easy to integrate with any and all business processes and uses the latest
encryption technology to ensure conversations are kept private and secure.
Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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