1. Home
  2. Intranet Software
  3. HCL Connections Reviews
  4. User Review of HCL Connections
Diversity of Connections
July 18, 2014

Diversity of Connections

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Software Version

4.5

Modules Used

  • Profiles
  • CCM
  • Forums
  • Wikis
  • Events
  • Activities
  • Blogs
  • Files

Overall Satisfaction with IBM Connections

It is currently being used by a number of departments throughout the company. It is addressing different problems within each department but primarily it is being used to disseminate information, used for notifications of important deadlines and for collaboration between a large geographical area.
  • Notifications - easily notifying users of changes in content whether it be blogs, forums or files.
  • Discussions - easily and quickly set up discussion topics so communities can exchange ideas on a variety of topics.
  • Quick set up - being able to rapidly set up a community in order to get a group collaborating.
  • Increased security schemes.
  • Community centric configurations
  • Displays of textual type content (web pages)
  • Better exchange of ideas
  • More cohesiveness among members of departments who are geographically separated.
  • Greater ability for multiple departments to share information.
  • Novell Vibe,MS SharePoint
At the time we were evaluating collaboration tools we weren't sure if our users were ready for it or not. As such we wanted to purchase a product where the users could get the feel for collaboration without making a huge software and infrastructure commitment in case they would not buy into it. Connections filled the need perfectly. Since we were an IBM shop already it made even more sense. The best thing is that Connections has continued to meet our collaboration needs even though it has caught on greatly with our user community and demand increases every day. We will continue to use Connections despite other larger more expensive options are out there.
Connections has continued to more than meet our needs from a collaboration point of view and we are currently working on integration with our IBM Websphere portal platform to provide an integrated collaboration solution. This scenario will provide our users the best both products have to offer in a single interface.
In assessing whether or not to use Connections, the primary issues are whether or not they need true web type pages and the level of security needed. The options are usually Connections or a portal site. If they don't have a need for multiple levels of access to the content or have to display web type pages then I direct them towards Connections where they can be up and running in literally 10 minutes.

IBM Connections Support

We ran into a few unique issues that took some time to resolve.
ProsCons
Quick Resolution
Good followup
Knowledgeable team
Problems get solved
Kept well informed
Immediate help available
Support cares about my success
None
Yes - We have contracted with an IBM partner for additional development and support work.
Yes - Yes.

Using IBM Connections

Most functions are fairly straight forward and the online help can any most questions.
ProsCons
Like to use
Relatively simple
Easy to use
Technical support not required
Well integrated
Consistent
Quick to learn
Convenient
Feel confident using
Familiar
None
  • Event creation and integration with Outlook
  • Forums
  • Blogs
  • Activities
Yes - I think the app is very good. Most people find it more straight forward than the desktop version.