A presentation that described advantages of IBM Connections over Office 365

1. Toronto, June 6-7 2016
IBM Connections vs. O365
Episode II
Jan Valdman, Whitesoft
@jan_valdman

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3. Remarks
The opinions in this deck are my own and do not necessarily reflect or equal to any opinions of Whitesoft or IBM.
All information about O365 and Sharepoint is based on my own end-user experience.
All conclusions are based on my personal experience using common, regular environments and accounts, both product
are considered to be in the “out-of-box” configuration.
I am not an expert on O365.
Cloud offerings change very quickly so the information might be outdated when you read it. Screenshots taken in June
2016.
This deck does not compare the products completely but only from a social collaboration perspective.
The information is provided “as-is”. I can not guarantee that the information in this deck is precise, complete, correct
and otherwise valid. I believe that you find this comparison true and useful however I can not accept responsibility for
any of your future decisions. If you do not like this policy, do not read further.
Copyright information

4. Toronto, June 6-7 2016
The story of this presentation

5. Episode I
• Boston – Athens – Stuttgart – Prague
• 3600+ people viewed at SlideShare
• 600+ people viewed at YouTube
• So the topic is hot… but I want to remake
it in a better way

6. Features & functions comparison does
not work

7. Introduction
• There are good stuff and bad stuff in Microsoft
Office 365
• In this deck you will learn why IBM
Connections is better than O365
• O365 is not social

8. What does SOCIAL mean?
“Social” is…
… to be in touch with colleagues, to
communicate, to collaborate, to share ideas
in order to get my work done faster and
better

9. That means
• How people get updated what’s happening
and stay focused
• To understand relationships between people
• To collaborate efficiently on files
• To share experience
• To engage young employees
• How to enhance internal communication
• …

10. Toronto, June 6-7 2016
What I’ve learned

11. What companies do and say
• Companies having (!) O365 buy IBM
Connections
• “we could do the same using OneDrive,
SharePoint, Yammer and … but we like that in
Connections everything is at a single place”

12. What companies do and say
• A know an IT company who sells and
implements SharePoint that decided for
Connections for internal use
• “well, we sell Sharepoint but I’d never
implement it for our company. It is far too
complex”

13. Voice of the market
• Czech CIO Magazine 6/2015
• Infoworld Review:
Office 365 fails at
collaboration
Source http://www.infoworld.com/article/2990441/collaboration/review-office-365-
fails-at-collaboration.html

14. What analysts say
• “While many organizations have moved to
O365, the primary reason for doing so was to
embrace Exchange Online”
• Michael Sampson,
in his latest book

15. Toronto, June 6-7 2016
Why customers love IBM
Connections?

16. How IBM Connections works

17. Everything at one place

18. Everything at one place

19. Everything at one place
Files
U
P
D
A
T
E
S
Your network
Blogs
Forums
Wikis
Communities Activities
……

20. A file can be shared/linked everywhere

21. A file can be shared/linked everywhere
• In community
• In a blog
• In a wiki
• In a status update
• In a forum

22. Toronto, June 6-7 2016
Pain points in O365

23. I have never heard…
• We are more innovative because of O365
• O365 connects people within our enterprise
• Our users love 0365
(such a poor life I live)

24. On the other hand, I have heard
• O365 is complex
• The tools are not integrated
• Why we should use several separated tools to
achieve this or that?

25. This is what O365 users see after sign in

26. Can you imagine Connections like this?
Install desktop client for IBM Connections.
Got a Mac? Sign in to IBM Connections on your Mac to install.
Smartphone or tablet? Get IBM Connections on your devices.
Collaborate with IBM Connections
Hi, Jan.
Home Profiles Communities Files Activities
Wikis Blogs Forums Bookmarks Metrics
Updates

27. Does it sound familiar?
• Until now, most PC software was designed for
individuals using individual PCs. But today,
more and more people are working in teams
on networked PCs that require a new kind of
software. Software that lets them quickly
share ideas and information no matter where,
when or how they work.

28. Does it sound familiar?
• Lotus Notes add
from 1991 (!)
• Is Microsoft 25
years behind?
Source http://www.lotusmuseum.com/pages/Ads

29. Toronto, June 6-7 2016
Reason #1 - Complexity

30. Complexity is the show stopper
• Which tool to use?
• How to fit everything together.
• Inconsistent GUI and user experience
• SharePoint complexity

31. What O365 users need

32. What O365 users might use (if trained)

33. … and what O365 users get

34. Example: files in Yammer

35. … files in OneDrive…

36. … files in in SharePoint

37. In general
• Files are stowed in multiple silos
• Overlapping functionalities, inconsistent UX
• No social capabilities
• Therefore they need
Delve and OfficeGraph
technology to stich
everything together

38. When to use what in O365
• Seriously meant WP
• 75 pages

39. When to use what in O365…

40. Compare to IBM Connections
Scenarios One location for each task, all totally integrated
FindingSomeone With A Certain Expertise IBM Connections Search
Ask Something, Don’t KnowWhomTo Ask IBM Connections Status Updates
DoA Brainstorming ActivityWith MyTeam IBM Connections Community Ideation
Where Should Meeting Notes Be Captured, Stored &
Shared?
IBM Connections Files
Where Should I ShareVideo? IBM Connections Files
Where Should I Share Photos? IBM Connections Files
Have A RealTime Chat with a Colleague IBM Connections Chat
Where Should I Put and Share Documents? IBM Connections Files
Have AQuestion RelatedTo A Document? IBM Connections Files (comments)
Invite A ColleagueTo Lunch IBM Connections Mail
Provide a Note of Congratulations/Praise IBM Connections Status Updates
Make An Organizational Announcement IBM Connections Community Blog
RemindTheTeam Of An Important Deadline IBM Connections Activities

41. Toronto, June 6-7 2016
Reason #2 - Roadmap

42. SharePoint is not evolving

43. So where is the innovation?
• Delve?
• Video?
• Groups?

44. Delve

45. Social strategy in O365
• 2012 $1.2 Billion Yammer buy
• 2013 Yammer!
• 2014 Groups!
• 2015 Yammer!
• 1/2016 MS layed off its entire team of
Yammer Customer Success Managers (CSMs)
• 2/2016 MS enabled Yammer for all customers

46. Yammer compared to IBM Connections

47. How much is Yammer integrated?
• Is it integrated with OneDrive?
• Is it integrated with SharePoint?

48. Toronto, June 6-7 2016
Reason #3 – Notifications

49. I am a member of 76 communities…

50. And I am still updated in a single stream

51. How can you follow SharePoint Sites
• Email???
• Delve?
• The SharePoint
Following
page?
• Yammer?

52. Toronto, June 6-7 2016
Reason #4 – The Theory

53. coordination cooperation collaboration
harmony smooth processes co-created value
synergy
convergent
outcomes
divergent
outcomes
The collaboration theory

54. missing/weak
in O365
cooperation collaboration
harmony smooth processes co-created value
synergy
convergent
outcomes
divergent
outcomes
The collaboration theory

55. co-createdvalue
synergy
convergent
outcomes
divergent
outcomes
Without coordination, it collapses
collaboration

56. Toronto, June 6-7 2016
Conclusions

57. O365 vs. social collaboration
• Can not work BY DESIGN - see the theory
• Customers use mostly Exchange & Onedrive
• There are some good features but isolated in
silos
• Instead of making the solutions more
integrated, Microsoft adds more and more
stuff

58. Good to know
• Customers do not buy O365 to foster
collaboration but to use Outlook/Exchange,
OneDrive, Word, Excel, Powerpoint
• Even O365 customers are interested in IBM
Connections

59. A side-by side comparison
• In Connections,
everything is simple,
integrated,
straightforward and
transparent for end
users
• Business users are self-
sufficient to setup and
manage everything
themselves
• In O365, features are
disintegrated, complex
and hidden from the
users
• You need experienced
(and expensive)
consultants to set up
and maintain
Sahrepoint sites

60. Remember
There are more than
365 reasons to use
IBM Connections
  

61. Thank You!
Jan Valdman
jan.valdman@whitesoft.eu
+420 603 590 152
Many thanks to people who helped me to discuss and validate my findings and ideas.

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