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HCL Connections

HCL Connections
Formerly from IBM

Overview

What is HCL Connections?

Connections from HCL Technologies (formerly from IBM, acquired by HCL in 2018) is a collaboration tool and employee digital workspace with key features like social analytics, blogs, document management, and a social network.

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Learn from top reviewers

A multifunctional tool

Rating: 9 out of 10
February 25, 2022
Vetted ReviewVerified User
Connections is a corporate collaboration software that enables teams to operate more efficiently. It improves communication among project teams. It provides all employees with...
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Anurag Chaudhary
Engineer - Engineering
Engineer (Design & Development)
JTEKT India Technical Center
HCL Connections3 years of experience

Connections is a proven tool for managing complicated projects and keeping your data secure

Rating: 9 out of 10
August 20, 2019
IncentivizedVetted ReviewVerified User
We use Connections as a repository and means of communication for internal projects. It is being used by all departments and is a good tool for team collaboration.
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Kelly Capo
Employee - Sales
Business Development
IBM
HCL Connections7 years of experience

IBM Connections in the Cloud - One Stop for Communication and Collaboration

Rating: 8 out of 10
July 13, 2018
IncentivizedVetted ReviewVerified User
IBM Connections is being used across the entire organization and is available to us on our internet browser via the cloud. IBM Connections is our tool to connect to each other...
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Tony Morales, PMP, CSM
Manager - Information Technology
Project Management Office (PMO) Manager
Carestream
HCL Connections2 years of experience

A complete package but expensive and complicated to maintain

Rating: 6 out of 10
June 20, 2018
IncentivizedVetted ReviewVerified User
IBM Connections is used by the entire organization. We have many departments and user groups that are divided into Connections "communities". It helps connects users across th...
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Jeremiah Miller
Manager - Information Technology
Associate Director IT Infrastructure
Mennonite Central Committee
HCL Connections5 years of experience

IBM Connections - Not Connecting Ideas!

Rating: 2 out of 10
May 11, 2018
IncentivizedVetted ReviewVerified User
IBM Connections is being used largely as a wiki replacement system because of its tight integration with other IBM products. For instance, we used (and have since replaced) IB...
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Eric Hodge
Engineer - Research & Development
Engineering Manager
Waters Corporation
HCL Connections2 years of experience
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Pricing

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HCL Connections

HCL Connections

N/A
Unavailable

What is HCL Connections?

Connections from HCL Technologies (formerly from IBM, acquired by HCL in 2018) is a collaboration tool and employee digital workspace with key features like social analytics, blogs, document management, and a social network.

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services

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Guru

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What is Guru?

Enterprise AI Search, Intranet, and Wiki in one platform. Guru lives in tools organizations already use, so no need to context switch. Users can find info across any app, have an expert help if the info can't be found, and let Guru proactively identify knowledge gaps, duplicate knowledge, and…

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Product Details

What is HCL Connections?

Connections from HCL Technologies (formerly from IBM, acquired by HCL in 2018) is a collaboration tool and employee digital workspace with key features like social analytics, blogs, document management, and a social network.

HCL Connections Technical Details

Operating SystemsUnspecified
Mobile ApplicationNo

Frequently Asked Questions

Connections from HCL Technologies (formerly from IBM, acquired by HCL in 2018) is a collaboration tool and employee digital workspace with key features like social analytics, blogs, document management, and a social network.

Reviewers rate Usability highest, with a score of 9.

The most common users of HCL Connections are from Mid-sized Companies (51-1,000 employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews From Top Reviewers

View all reviews
(1-5 of 10)

Not flashy, but it gets the job done

Rating: 7 out of 10
Incentivized
December 07, 2017
Verified User
Administrative Assistant in Human Resources
Education Management Company, 51-200 employees
Vetted Review
Verified User
HCL Connections
1 year of experience
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
My organization has primarily been utilizing IBM Connections as a means to communicate with staff. We have an All Staff community in which we post pertinent information for all employees and communities for each individual department. We also have communities for work-related projects. In this way, we use Connections to organize our information for easier consumption. We are in the process of migrating our policy wiki to our department communities. In addition to the above, my department (HR) uses the MS Office plugin for sharing and editing documents. All in all, IBM Connections has been very beneficial to the organization as a provides some much-needed structure in terms of where information goes, when it is updated and how it is presented.
Pros
  • The plugin for MS Office/Explorer has made saving and sharing working documents extremely convenient for me and my close colleagues
  • The newsfeed feature conveniently aggregates updates from the communities/people you follow. It's nice not to have to jump from community to community to see what's going on in the organization
  • The various apps can be used for several purposes. A little creativity goes a long way when establishing what type of information the apps can be useful for communicating
Cons
  • Navigating Connections is tedious and time-consuming. More times than not I find it easier to simply search for what I'm looking for rather than trying to find what I need through other means
  • While file uploading and sharing files is useful enough, the browser lacks the seamless nature of Google Docs and the plugin can't hold a candle to Sharepoint. It works, but I find it clunky
  • We sorely miss our one-stop homepage (The Hub) that has been replaced by IBM Connections. There is no "jump-off" page to provide ease of navigation. It would really nice to be able to provide bookmarks and/or some form of directory in the side tabs of the newsfeed.
Likelihood to Recommend
Ex) We recently gathered a committee to discuss the redesign of a product. All members in the committee were added to a community focused on the redesign. We recorded meeting agendas and minutes in the activities app, uploaded test redesigns for comment in files, and brainstormed potential improvements in the forum

Ex) The status feature is essentially useless without following the person posting the status. We do not follow individual staff members because it leads to a cluttered newsfeed with information irrelevant to other departments. We still use our phone chat client to communicate statuses.

Great all-around tool for the large but also small environments

Rating: 10 out of 10
Incentivized
December 21, 2015
VT
Victor Toal
Chief Solutions Architect
ToalSystems (Information Technology and Services, 1-10 employees)
Vetted Review
Verified User
HCL Connections
8 years of experience
View profile
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
ToalSystems is an IT consulting company that specializes in collaboration technology by IBM. We design and implement small to very large IBM Connecitons environments for clients and in many cases also support those systems for clients. We also offer training for both end users and technical staff on the every day use of IBM Connections for both on premise installations and the cloud.
Pros
  • Integrates very well with other existing technology to make the use of IBM Connections as seamless as possible for the cleint: Integration with MS Office products and the Windows desktop / File Explorer is key.
  • The ability to collaborate with all internal staff and also be able to invite outside vendors/clients/partners to access the system and collaborate around data is very important to our clients.
  • The usage of IBM Connections often has a direct impact on mail volume, many users now have less "chatter" email in their in-box than before. Being one of 20 people copied on a string of emails that they do not necessarily need to be involved in becomes less and less frequent with the use of IBM Connections in the enterprise.
Cons
  • A slightly more granular rights structure for files might be useful.
  • A better way to deal with the data of end-users after they leave - a more simple way to re-assign data ownership to others would be beneficial.
Likelihood to Recommend
I find IBM Connections especially useful when bringing together several disparate and possibly geographically separated team members. Also, the ability to bring in outside people (vendors, clients, partners) is very key as it then keeps all the data and the exchange inside the company but visible to all. No more copying 30 people in emails to make sure everybody is somehow in the loop.

Connecting with your colleagues made easy!

Rating: 10 out of 10
Incentivized
December 09, 2015
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
Our professional services team uses IBM Connections to keep track of projects and documentation. Since we are a small team who all reside in different regions of the USA, IBM Connections provides a way for us to stay organized. Our team is also able to share documentation. This reduces the need for team members to request information from each other when we can get to it when we need it.
Pros
  • IBM Connections provides anytime, anywhere access. Whether from a browser, mobile device, desktop plugins, or IBM Notes, you can access IBM Connections in the way that is convenient for you.
  • The search functionality is extremely powerful! You can search across everything in the system or just specific sections.
  • If you are unsure of WHO to ask about something in your organization, the Directory Tags and Search can put you in touch with just the right person.
Cons
  • As one who not only uses but also implements the software, IBM could still do further streamlining of the product's installation routines. I have been working with the product since Version 1, and it has gotten somewhat better in general. But new add-on packages pose more problems with installations and upgrades.
  • It would be nice to be able to more easily customize the interface. I would like it if IBM would provide less complicated CSS.
  • There is also a common request from systems administrators to have a consistent web interface for managing the various parts of the environment.
Likelihood to Recommend
IBM Connections is possibly most suited for larger organizations where bigger teams are able to have more people to share with. Also, it may be less appropriate when there is so much security that it would hinder the anytime, anywhere access capabilities and prevent users from being able to enjoy sharing content with each other.

IBM Connections - Get those social juices flowing at work!

Rating: 8 out of 10
Incentivized
July 18, 2014
ES
Erich Schmidt
Manager of Application Development
Applegate (Consumer Goods, 51-200 employees)
Vetted Review
Verified User
HCL Connections
4 years of experience
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
IBM Connections is used across the organization, for blogging, activities and creating wikis.The blogging (and subsequent commenting and "Likes") is the primary means of communicating business and non-business issues/events to employees. Wikis hold a great deal of business and institutional knowledge.
Pros
  • Blogging is easy and useful. For any company above a certain size, it is impractical to share things via email, particularly as an email chain with comments quickly gets out of control. Using a public social platform has obvious problems. Connections blogs makes it all easy.
  • Using and creating Wikis, and even structuring related Wikis, is easy and intuitive. Before Wikis, institutuional knowledge, product documentation, etc. was spread all over. Wikis solved that.
  • Searching is the key to it all. Connections search results were quick and more easily useful than competing platforms.
Cons
  • Though we don't use the latest version of Connections, my only real complaint has been the lack of "hot" links in Blog comments.
  • The management interface could be easier to use, or a bit better documented, particularly when dealing with error logs.
Likelihood to Recommend
I would recommend it unreservedly, if it was a bit easier to manage. If on premise, you will need someone technically proficient generally, if you don't have a Websphere administrator. Of course, you could always go cloud with it.

IBM Connections is everything you need to unite professionals around the globe.

Rating: 8 out of 10
Incentivized
July 23, 2014
OT
Olga Toprover
Project Manager
DIRECTV (Information Technology and Services, 5001-10,000 employees)
Vetted Review
Verified User
HCL Connections
5 years of experience
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
I was working on a project implementing IBM Connections in the insurance industry. The system was used by tens of thousands users located around the globe. Various types of groups of users were using the tool to write wiki places and blogs using a few languages. Some of the blogs were global and open for everyone within the company, the others were devoted to specific problems and were available only to limited groups of resources.
Pros
  • IBM Connections really keep users connected and makes them united.
  • It is easy to use blogs in IBM Connections
  • The statuses available in IBM Connections are very handy. It is really convenient to know what is going on with your collegues at this very moment.
  • Basic security is provided within IBM Connections tools.
Cons
  • I wish IBM would improve how IBM Connections works with pictures and media. This is the area to improve the product. Simply speaking IBM Connections is a corporate Facebook, so some media functionality similar to Facebook would be helpful. One of the groups I was working with was a training department, where video materials were used, but there was no convenient way to keep and to use them with IBM Connections or Quickr.
  • I think IBM has to discover an exciting way of keeping the corporate Facebook mood. I would suggest something like internal recommendations, which might also be connected to external ( LInkedIn) connections, then people would be motivated to use it. It is going to be there if they leave the company.
Likelihood to Recommend
IBM Connections is well suited for a big organization where collaboration between people is required or beneficial for business and the work is mostly related to text documents. I would also recommend IBM Connections in organizations where resources are grouped by areas of business or by events.
During the selection process I would ask what the primary type of information the users work with: text documents or images/media. I would also ask how many users are planned to participate in the system. The bigger the organization is the more sense it is to use IBM Connections.
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