By Chris Maxcer TechNewsWorld Part of the ECT News Network
05/15/08 12:04 PM PT
IBM has brought new Lotus functions to the BlackBerry platform. Specifically, it's making Lotus Connections available to Research In Motion's handsets. Connections facilitates social networking interactions for enterprise users. As the MySpace generation enters the corporate world, social networking may have increasing importance in business interactions.
IBM (NYSE: IBM) has released additional Lotus software for Research In Motion's (Nasdaq: RIMM) popular BlackBerry platform, taking the set of applications further beyond the realm of simple e-mail and into the wild world of Web 2.0 social networking applications. Yes, that's social networking for the enterprise.
While IBM already offers core Lotus collaboration software that includes Notes-based e-mail, portals, dashboards, messaging, calendaring and instant messaging, the company is adding BlackBerry Client for IBM Lotus Connections, which is IBM's social software for businesses.
Social Networking Set to Explode
To put IBM's offering in context, the company cites eMarketer forecasts that have mobile social networking ballooning from the 82 million users in 2007 to more than 800 million worldwide by 2012. Plus, this year IBM said more people in the world will have a mobile device than a landline telephone. IBM's Institute for Business Value predicts 1 billion mobile Web users by 2011 and a significant shift in the way the majority of people will interact with the Web over the next decade.
"As the world enters the 'Era of the Mobile Web,' mobile devices like BlackBerry are outnumbering TVs, credit cards and PCs, and are becoming increasingly critical to business operations for companies of all sizes globally," noted Bob Picciano, IBM's general managers of Lotus Software.
Facebook Generation
"The demand for social networking derived business networking is nascent still but will, in short order, become huge -- very important as we go into 2010 and the Facebook generation becomes a more direct part of the workforce," Tony Rizzo, director of mobile software analysis for The 451 Group, told TechNewsWorld.
"Lotus owns about 48 percent of all corporate seats in terms of e-mail, etc. So it plays a huge enterprise role relative to where mobility is headed. All of the announcements with RIM are critical for IBM to maintain ongoing growth on the Lotus end," Rizzo added.
In addition to BlackBerry Client for Lotus Connections, IBM and RIM added IBM's Cognos (Nasdaq: COGN) 8 Go Mobile business intelligence software to its lineup, which IBM says is the industry's first business intelligence solution designed specifically for the BlackBerry platform. It provides personalized secure business information via dashboard-style reports.
IBM Hosting BlackBerry Service, Too
In a separate but related news, IBM and RIM also announced that IBM has added new hosting capabilities so that IBM can support the BlackBerry platform. IBM has joined the BlackBerry System Integrator (SI) Alliance Program, and will expand its portfolio of Managed Wireless Services for the BlackBerry platform. The offering builds upon the strength of the BlackBerry Enterprise Server product line with a far-reaching suite of services that include hosting, consulting, systems integration and deployment of enterprise applications on the converged platform, IBM said.
"In today's business world, BlackBerry is as essential to our organization as network connectivity, phone and e-mail. At Fluor, we count on BlackBerry to speed our decision making, help solve problems and improve execution," noted Ray Barnard, vice president and CIO of Fluor Corporation.
"We count on IBM to deliver this essential service and to collaborate with our business partners to innovate on new mobile applications that further our competitive advantage," he added.
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Hyperconnected World May 14, 2008
People who carry around devices that let them stay in touch with friends, family and work at just about every moment of the day are what researchers have dubbed "hyperconnected" individuals. Their ranks are growing, according to an IDC and Nortel study. They make up 16 percent of business users today; by 2013, they'll be 40 percent.
Related Stories
IBM Fuels New Blue Biz Initiative With Linux May 07, 2008
IBM will be making a big play for small businesses later this year when it launches its one-stop-shop for SMBs' computing needs. The Linux-based program brings together Big Blue's entire ecosystem of partners, compiling all of their offerings into one handy catalog. It combines the Lotus Foundations Start server with a Web platform for running software and includes an application integration toolkit.
IBM's Road Map to the Heart of Microsoft Turf January 23, 2008
IBM has been working to reinvent the image of Lotus for some time, stretching back to last year's partner meetings when it sought to break the software platform out of its stodgy, corporate image, said Gartner analyst Jeffrey Mann. That's a major shift in thinking for IBM, which has always focused on selling to information technology departments rather than the people who utilize its software applications.
Enterprise IT System, Heal Thyself November 09, 2007
Human beings generally don't have to think about breathing, digesting or all the myriad other background maintenance tasks that keep us humming. Neither, says IBM, should enterprise computing systems. Autonomous computing is an extremely complex concept, but IBM says it's beginning to make headway into computers smart enough to heal themselves.
Related News Alerts
More by Chris Maxcer
The Gphone That Could Catch My Eye November 20, 2009
Rumors are cropping up that Google is preparing to sell its own Gphone -- an Android handset using Google-branded hardware. There are some reasons to doubt it will happen, of course, but the possibility is intriguing. What would Google have to build to make something worthy of an iPhone fan's attention?
Apple's House Rules Won't Be the Death of App Development November 13, 2009
Facebook's iPhone app is one of the most popular wares the App Store has ever carried. But its developer, Joe Hewitt, says he's through with it, stating that Apple's review policies are starting a bad precedent for other platforms. However, good apps from talented developers will always find platforms, and Apple's policies won't prevent that from happening. They may even help.
Let's Give the iPhone Hackers a Big Round of Applause November 06, 2009
It's safe to say most Apple customers are satisfied living in the walled-off ecosystem that the company has created for products like the iPhone. Still, it's good to know that it is possible -- and relatively easy, even -- to bust through those walls if one should ever want to. The work of iPhone hackers is appreciated even by those who've never felt the jailbreak itch.
Headline Feeds
and into the wild world of Web 2.0 social networking applications. Yes, that's social networking for the enterprise.
Talkback: 
