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IBM Connections is a versatile platform used organization-wide to connect users, find and organize information, and collaborate on …
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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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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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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 Systems | Unspecified |
|---|---|
| Mobile Application | No |
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 Enterprises (1,001+ employees).
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TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!
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IBM Connections is a versatile platform used organization-wide to connect users, find and organize information, and collaborate on projects. Users across departments benefit from the collaboration tools offered by IBM Connections for internal projects and team collaboration. Additionally, frontline production workers to board members rely on this software for project management, knowledge sharing, collaboration, and idea sharing.
IBM Connections addresses various business problems such as document editing, sharing, version control, as well as enabling increased transparency. It serves as a centralized repository for constantly changing information with multiple levels of permissions, tagging, and spaces. This makes it an ideal replacement for wikis, providing structure in organizing and updating information effectively.
Organizations in the insurance industry utilize IBM Connections to write wiki places and blogs in different languages. Mizuno utilizes IBM Connections organization-wide to keep everyone informed and connected, share data, and stay updated on company-wide events. The software is also being evaluated for cloud options to provide document control, integration of social tools, and compatibility with various devices.
Users find value in IBM Connections' communication features to connect with staff and disseminate information within communities created for individual departments. The software's usage statistics and reporting capabilities are crucial for users to track the effectiveness of their content. Additionally, the HR department benefits from the MS Office plugin for sharing and editing documents.
Overall, IBM Connections has proven to be an invaluable tool in improving communication among teams, facilitating collaboration between departments spread across large geographical areas, and providing a centralized platform for everyday operations.
Users commonly recommend IBM Connections for the following reasons:
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IBM Connections is praised for its ability to enhance collaboration and social networking within a business. Users find it helpful for improving teamwork and communication among employees.
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Many users recommend IBM Connections for its features such as email, calendars, meeting rooms, and document sharing. It is considered suitable for companies with multiple departments that require transparency in operations.
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Users suggest having IT staff who can handle the layout and functionality of IBM Connections to maximize its potential. They also recommend it for environments that support self-service and where end users want a well-structured content storage interaction.
Overall, IBM Connections is deemed valuable in strengthening internal social networks, improving collaboration, and providing efficient communication within organizations. It is particularly recommended for larger companies looking to save time with social and collaboration-based solutions, but can also benefit businesses of all sizes that aim to enhance their productivity and foster connectivity among employees.
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(1-4 of 4)Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
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 and collaborate in a number of areas - project management, knowledge management, collaboration and sharing of ideas. Our company also is able to use email, calendars and virtual meeting rooms for communication.
- The virtual meeting room tool is reliable and easy to use.
- Email capability via the browser and not a client installed application.
- Calendars and meeting scheduling in IBM Connections. This is a one stop shop!
- Communities for sharing documents and knowledge has been one of the better features our company is adopting. Let's get out of file shares and Windows folders.
- Our company does not have the chat feature which would be helpful.
- The screens are not overly intuitive and require some tutorials or just plain discovery learning and trial and error.
- Browser-based so not sure all browsers are supported.
- Positive - Using IBM Connections has reduced the number of directories and file share repositories previously used for collaboration.
- Positive - The direction is to stop relying on email for the only method of communicating and sharing knowledge. IBM Connections is in the right step.
Our company's instance of IBM Connections does not have the project specific link to schedules and budget like Planview Project Place
December 07, 2017
Not flashy, but it gets the job done
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.
- 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
- 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.
- I can't speak to monetary ROI, but it is an effective tool for communicating and has stimulated more open communication about special projects
- The cloud integration with email and profile boosts the appeal and usefulness of using the web-based browser (rather than Notes) -- however, I am not sold on Verse and dread the day everything gets moved over to that platform
- Though there's much to be desired, the wiki feature has allowed us to slowly phase out outdated resources
IBM Connections is similar to the tools provided in collegiate settings (like Blackboard), but with more emphasis on the social media model and less focused (sometimes too many options/features is a bad thing). I find the file sharing and collaboration pieces to be the most useful, because my role happens to emphasize those tasks. These features are effective, but do have a bit of a learning curve (particularly with the MS Office plugin). However, as I mentioned in a previous response, Connections is nowhere near as dependable or convenient as MS SharePoint and/or Google Docs. File syncing is very touchy, collaboration tools are clunky and the open sourced office software integrated with the web browser can render documents awkward or impossible to read.
85
Every employee uses IBM Connections to some extent, as it is our primary source of all staff communication. Our production-based employees utilize it for deadline and goal tracking, our HR department provides messages to staff, our Evaluation department uses it as a knowledge center and collaborative tool and leadership provides policy information.
5
There are several members of the IT department and HR involved in supporting IBM Connections. The IT department uses website development to improve features so they work more seamlessly. The HR department provides support for feedback and simple questions regarding usability of functions. There is also a committee for the specific purpose of guiding the development of Connections, which includes members from IT, HR, Evaluation and Customer Service for broader insight.
- Uploading and sharing documents, with the added feature of collaborative functions
- Communities specifically for shorter term projects to better communicate and store the information that may otherwise be lost in the shared drive down the line
- Communicating notices or announcements to all staff in a central location
- I did not expect to be able to upload and sync files from explorer or MS office. It is more convenient than the web browser and provides all the metadata available in the browser.
- Using the activities feature to track agendas and minutes is nice for storing meeting notes.
- I like that my manager can be updated on our progress without having to send her a notice or email. We already communicate several times on a daily basis, so it's convenient that we can cut out some unneeded correspondence from time to time.
- It would be great to be able to integrate our time-off schedule with Connections. We currently use a spreadsheet because we have leadership who are very particular about how the information is presented.
- We plan to integrate our phone and chat tech with Connections, but I'm not sure where that initiative stands at the moment.
- While we already use the wiki for policy information, an improved method of structuring the information would go a long way in making the wiki a functional standard operations manual. At this time, there is much to be desired on that front.
Not Sure
- Price
- Product Features
- Product Usability
- Existing Relationship with the Vendor
I can't speak to leadership decisions, but I believe the main factor in using IBM Connections is simply that it is there. We have used IBM products for years so it seems like the obvious solution. Our organization is taking steps to streamline our technological foothold, so I believe it comes down to convenience and necessity.
I was not a part of the selection process and am not aware of the steps that were taken to vet products with similar features. As a stated previously, IBM Connections was like chosen out of convenience and due to prior use of IBM products, such as email and cloud storage.
December 21, 2015
Great all-around tool for the large but also small environments
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Client example: giving sales staff (who are mostly mobile users) access to the latest product information and being able to present it to clients without having to manually search or call customer service to send them is key. The ability to ask questions (comments to data) around information and get immediate answers (in form of a comment to your comment) is also important.
- The creation process of data sheets, presentations, charts etc., has been sped up. No more asking around for the latest version. Discussions around new functionality of products and the exchange of ideas has been greatly improved.
- Client example: during a re-branding process the ability to directly collaborate with outside vendors and then get internal feedback to new designs and even put out surveys asking input by staff regarding new uniforms and logos has made a difficult process much easier and faster and staff feel much more involved.
Better integration points with third party products, most functionality is part of the core product.
December 10, 2015
IBM Connections on-premises: Excellent, but SMBs may want to look at the cloud version instead.
We piloted IBM Connections 5.0 (on-premises) for about 8 months but ended up deciding to evaluate cloud options instead. Our user base is about 650 users and we were looking to move up from Lotus Quickr. We knew we needed something that would work natively on iOS as well as on Windows PCs and in browsers, provide us with additional document control (ECM-type features), and of course integration of social tools to provide easier access to people and information. Usage statistics and reporting were also a concern; users wanted to know when their content was useful (or not).
- The web UI is very easy for most users to get around. The mobile app UI is even better, especially for Blogs and Files. It’s clear IBM has done a lot of work around the usability of Connections. Most users immediately felt at home regardless of which social network(s) they’ve used. Technically savvy users quickly discovered how to customize a Community for their own purposes. After the initial introduction, most users could use the Connections web UI and mobile app easily without IT intervention.
- Ideation Blogs are a great way to brainstorm and share ideas, then vote on those ideas. The concept is great, and hopefully as time goes on IBM refines it with additional administrative control.
- Early test groups loved the mobile app immediately with its super easy file sync capabilities and associated document editing app (even though we did not have IBM Docs).
- Profiles were a big hit right away, making it easy to find, tag (recommend), and follow other people that might not otherwise be connected with in the organization.
- The ability to Tag, #hashtag and Follow virtually anything in Connections provides users easy ways to connect with people and content.
- External collaboration, even though we never specifically tested this, appears to be very clear in Connections, providing customers etc. a secure way to share information with internal teams.
- Search functionality is very good.
- The lack of a note-taking tool became a bigger and bigger issue as time went on. Our pilot users felt Connections was a natural place to take and share meeting notes – including photos, drawings, recorded audio, etc. – and were always frustrated that there was no easy, organized way to do that. We tried using a Blog, Wiki, etc. but nothing really resonated as a good solution for this.
- The Wiki tool is weak, providing rigid structure but with few options. A Community can only have a single Wiki, for instance. Wikis are weak in the mobile app as well; they’re not even easy to navigate. Users ended up ignoring Wikis completely despite our efforts to get them to convert documents like guidelines, policies, procedures, handbooks, etc. into Wiki form.
- The Windows Explorer plug-in was useful but required a lot of manual intervention to setup. For instance, once a user joins a Community in Connections, the Community also has to be manually added to the Explorer plug-in so the user can find, open and edit files with it. We felt this process should be much more automated.
- Tagging is only relevant in the web UI and, to a lesser extent, in the mobile app. However, in the Windows Explorer plug-in, Tags are not usable at all making it difficult to find things that were easy to find in the web UI.
- IBM Docs was not included in the on-premises deployment; it was an additional license so we did not test it. Documents, mainly Microsoft Office files, are still the single most common way our user community creates, shares, edits and presents information. That proved to be a major gap for our users, and slowed user adoption considerably. We considered testing it, but IBM Docs would only work for about half of our users so we found ourselves wondering if we really wanted to support two document editing platforms. IBM Docs also offers no way to work offline as far as we could tell. This also meant we would need to keep licensing Microsoft Office which is not cheap.
- Consulting costs are high because the back-end environment is complex. Installing, administrating and even patching Connections is a fairly complex process. We needed to hire consultants to install our test environment and any major upgrades would’ve required additional consulting fees. Any 3rd party add-ons we looked at were highly technical in nature meaning…you guessed it, more consulting costs.
- Administrating IBM Connections requires editing XML files in a specific, secure way that is typically done in a console. I love consoles as much as the next admin, but when you only use a console once every 2 months it means looking up all the documentation and re-educating yourself. A single change could take me 2 hours to implement. 3rd party admin dashboards do exist, at an additional cost, but IBM really should provide a much easier way to manage the environment.
- The lack of in-person or online training courses, materials, videos, etc. really discouraged a lot of users. The only decent training we could find (marketing videos aside) was a single video series on Lynda.com which, of course, was an additional cost. In the end that video didn’t really help our users much beyond introductory concepts.
- IBM includes reporting, but it’s a massive Cognos system requiring some serious hardware and Cognos expertise. We had neither, and would have ultimately opted for a 3rd party add-on for reporting and statistics.
- An often overlooked concern is eDiscovery. Our contracted eDiscovery service extensively works with various ECMs, but had no idea how they would handle Connections data. The cloud version of Connections offers an add-on for eDiscovery, but as far as we could tell IBM offered nothing for on-premises deployments.
- IBM Connections 5.0 on-premises provided our pilot groups with better overall communications. Communities sprang up around projects, teams, departments, and even topics like new technologies. As the groups expanded their usage, they found posting Status updates, new or updated Files, and so forth really helped everyone keep up.
- Throughout our pilot we kept noticing that despite the availability of tools like Blogs, Wikis, etc., our users tended to primarily use Microsoft Office documents instead. Even "millennials" coming in expected full, native support to view and edit Microsoft Office files from the web UI. IBM Docs appears to be a suitable replacement but adds cost to the solution overall.
- Most of the admins, developers and technical support staff at our organization are heavily Microsoft-centric and find IBM software difficult to integrate, support and find training for.
- The Connections on-premises server environment is a complex one, requiring either extensive in-house skill with IBM technologies or costly consulting. SMBs should look to the cloud version instead.
We have not yet evaluated any particular products in depth; we had fully expected to move forward with Connections on-premises.
However, we have briefly looked at SmartCloud / Connections Cloud which is, of course, very similar but maintained and updated by IBM. We have also briefly looked into Office 365 which has several advantages, being (A) Microsoft Office, (B) broadly available training (live, video, etc.) and (C) enthusiastic support from most of IT and many end users. However, Office 365 is much more expensive.
Yes
Well it was supposed to have replaced Lotus Quickr. Quickr becomes unsupported in 2016.
- Price
- Product Features
- Product Usability
- Product Reputation
- Prior Experience with the Product
- Analyst Reports
- Third-party Reviews
Price probably influenced our decision the most. About 18 months ago IBM offered us Connections licensing as an upgrade from Quickr. The cost was substantially lower than our other proposal which was to go with SharePoint on-premises. Not only was SharePoint a monster to admin but very expensive. At the time SharePoint showed lots of mixed reviews from IT and end-users alike, and no one in IT here really wanted to be responsible for the environment. SharePoint Online was also not a very strong product and Microsoft seemed to be heading into consumer-driven territory, giving us little confidence that it would improve much. Other companies using Connections reported massive time savings, reduction in email, etc., but in hindsight all of those companies were about 10x the size of our organization.
Given the timing of the market, it's hard to imagine doing it any differently. We did not have the resources to test more than one solution and IBM's seemed like a great fit. It definitely had the best pricing, making it an easy pitch for approval to move forward.
No
Not for Connections specifically (we only piloted it). I do have some stories for exceptional support over the years for Notes, Sametime, Quickr and Protector though!
- Status Updates are brilliant. Always 1 or 2 clicks away.
- Profiles are really great, especially when you need to find or contact someone from the mobile app.
- File sync is super easy, and on the mobile app that's a really big thing to get right.
- Customizing Communities is pretty straightforward and IBM provides a fair amount of customization to help each Community.
- Consuming blog posts on the mobile app is a really immersive experience.
- Customizing notifications for end-users is really nice -- but it had to be enabled on the back-end (by modifying some XML file).
- Ideation Blogs are extremely helpful and easy to use.
- User adoption went very well thanks to IBM's clever implementations of common social concepts such as Liking, Following, Tags, #hashtags, and so forth.
- Wikis are weak. We wanted to see more control, more security, more presentation options, more structuring options, etc. Many wiki solutions offer a lot more flexibility. Even in the mobile app, wikis were not easy to navigate and cannot be edited.
- Working with Microsoft Office files from the web UI was a download-edit-upload process. Users were not willing to do that.
- The Windows Explorer plug-in is not as intuitive as it should be. Communities are not automatically added and Tags are not readily exposed.
- Activities are valuable but quickly get messy. A Kanban-style 3rd party implementation is much cleaner but of course costs extra.
- Software patches on the back-end are cumbersome, time consuming and the process is not entirely clear.
Yes
The mobile app is so good, users often ask me if there's a "mobile app theme" for the web version. It's THAT good. The Connections mobile app even has a "companion" app which allows users to create and modify their Microsoft Office files quickly and easily. It's not perfect but it's quite good and did not require any additional configuration (or licensing) to use.