New York (USA), February 2007 - Among students and teenagers, social networking - using tools like MySpace or Facebook - has been a hit for quite some time. IBM now intends to offer a software package for companies to support their internal social networking with blogs, idea-and-knowledge sharing, and an expert search, thus increasing their productivity.
The new software, called Lotus Connection, is expected this year, and will offer users a virtual world on their desktops in which they can find and meet colleagues for the exchange of experience and a professional dialogue. The platform is IBM's and Lotus' answer to Microsoft's Exchange SharePoint Services, which has competed with Lotus Notes for some years.
The corporate world also appreciates the benefits of social networking, but so far, the available software tools have focused only on a specific element like blogging. Lotus Connections offers more components: for example, communities, profiles, blogs, bookmarks, and activities support the employees to find the right person just in time and to build a new relationship that fulfils the user's individual needs.
For several years, IBM employees have been using a prototype of the profiles feature, which allows the user to search not only by name but also by expertise or keyword. The result of the search comprises contact information, links to blogs, activities, communities, and bookmarks of the specific person. Meanwhile, inside IBM 450,000 profiles are stored in the software. The new software will be available in the first half of 2007.
