Orlando, FL - 18 janv. 2010:

LOTUSPHERE - IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced the technology and business expansion of its LotusLive cloud collaboration platform through a new R&D pipeline from IBM Research and plans to open the LotusLive suite to new partners.  LotusLive cloud services provide integrated email, Web conferencing, social networking and collaboration with IBM's focus on security, reliability and enterprise integration.

IBM Accelerates Cloud Computing with LotusLive

New Innovation Pipeline and Platform for Integration To Fuel Market Expansion

ORLANDO, FL – 18 January 2010: LOTUSPHERE - IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced the technology and business expansion of its LotusLive cloud collaboration platform through a new R&D pipeline from IBM Research and plans to open the LotusLive suite to new partners.  LotusLive cloud services provide integrated email, Web conferencing, social networking and collaboration with IBM's focus on security, reliability and enterprise integration.

  
IBM Research and Lotus are joining forces to deliver new innovation on the Web through the creation of LotusLive Labs -- a proving ground for advances in business-driven collaboration in the cloud.

  
Known for pushing the boundaries of science, technology and business to build a smarter planet, IBM researchers have been recognized with five Nobel prizes. In 2009 IBM received 4,914 US patents -- marking the 17th consecutive year it has topped the list of the world's most inventive companies. IBM Research and Lotus will accelerate the pipeline for business-focused innovation for LotusLive.

  
At Lotusphere 2010 this week, a range of LotusLive Labs technology previews are being unveiled including:

·         Slide Library, a collaborative way to build and share presentations;

·         Collaborative Recorded Meetings, a service that records and instantly transcribes meeting presentations and audio/video for searching and tagging;

·         Event Maps, an interactive way to visualize and interact with conference schedules; and,

·         Composer, the ability to create LotusLive Mashups through the combination of LotusLive services.
  
Expected in second quarter of 2010 via LotusLive Labs, Project Concord is a new Web-based document editor for creating and sharing documents, presentations and spreadsheets. 

  
A Platform for Integration

Today IBM also announced the extension of the core collaboration services of LotusLive to third-party applications and business processes.  Previously available only through the LotusLive Design Partner program, IBM will make application programming interfaces (APIs) for LotusLive services available to any IBM business partner in the second half of 2010.  In addition, three LotusLive Design Partners are scheduled to bring their solutions to market in Q2 including:

·         Silanis Technology:  electronic signature process management integrated with LotusLive Files and Activities

·         Skype:  voice and video calling integrated with LotusLive Contacts

·         Prolifiq:  one to one branded sales messaging platform integrated with LotusLive Contacts and Files

IBM is also working with several new integration partners including PGi (formerly Premiere Global Services), a leading global provider of meeting and collaboration solutions that energize people and organizations to connect more meaningfully. PGi will resell LotusLive Meetings, integrated with its audio conferencing platform.

IBM also announced the expansion of benefits for IBM business partners, including no-cost, 12-month LotusLive demo accounts as well as a number of partner programs to help partners succeed in selling LotusLive services.
Details on partner benefits and programs as well as information on the Design Partner program are available at www.lotuslive.com/businesspartners.

“Lotus knows that helping customers work with people outside and inside their companies, especially in the context of a business process, is important,” said Sean Poulley, vice president, IBM Cloud Collaboration. "By making it easy for partners to weave cloud-based social networking, collaboration and communication tools into their applications, customers will gain powerful new ways to solve business problems."

  
New Service Enhancements

The next version of LotusLive Notes will provide email, calendar, contact management and instant messaging capabilities to customers in a multi-tenant environment.  The LotusLive Notes service will be optimized to support hybrid on-premise and cloud deployments with standard support for directory synchronization between on-premise directories and the cloud, access to application and mail workflows that remain on-premise, and entitlement for every user to use either a browser or the Lotus Notes client to access their email. New services and options will include a reduction in the minimum number of users for a LotusLive Notes subscription from 1,000 to 25, IBM Lotus Sametime instant messaging support and a 5GB standard mailbox quota.  IBM is now accepting requests to participate in the LotusLive Notes managed beta program at www.lotuslive.com/en/services/notes.

 
LotusLive Availability

LotusLive delivers integrated email, Web conferencing, social networking and collaboration services to simplify and improve daily business interactions with customers, partners and colleagues.  Available in English, Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Spanish, a no-cost, 30-day trial is available at www.lotuslive.com/compare.

  
IBM's cloud computing initiative is a key driver for the company and a key area of focus for clients. Cloud computing, combined within an overall IT strategy, can help improve business performance and control the costs of delivering IT resources to the organization. Collaboration in the cloud can enable rapid business innovation by extending the enterprise perimeter to the cloud for the delivery of easy-to-use computing services to users regardless of location or the type of device being used.

  
Learn more about the LotusLive portfolio at www.lotuslive.com

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IBM Helps Clients Adopt a Collaboration Agenda to Increase the Speed of Business

Aims to Transform the Way People Work Across Healthcare, Banking, Government and Insurance Markets 
 

ORLANDO, FL – 18 January 2010: LOTUSPHERE– IBM (NYSE: IBM) today unveiled a new initiative to help clients increase the speed of business and improve results through collaboration technology and industry expertise.  IBM's Collaboration Agenda brings together IBM's vertical industry expertise, software lab specialists and consulting services experts to help clients realize measurable returns from improving the way people interact.

  
Today organizations are struggling to find ways to help employees become more efficient and improve the way employees, suppliers and clients interact. According to IBM's Global CEO Survey, 98 percent of CEOs  feel their company's ability to adapt to change is key to having a more dynamic business. While industries have unique challenges, there are common inhibitors many companies share.  For example, two-thirds of people can’t find the expertise they know is out there, according to a Harris Interactive poll.+

  
Recognizing these business challenges, IBM is delivering a series of consultative workshops that provide tested tools, best practices and industry experts to help clients define a collaboration roadmap and strategy.  The objective of these workshops is to help organizations realize tangible business value by connecting people, experts and information in the right context, minimizing the daily churn to get work 
done.  Among the benefits of this transformation:

Individuals can work together using the right social and collaboration tools in the context of how they really work based on their specific role in the organization, including ad-hoc teaming.People can connect easily and quickly with experts, partners, suppliers and customers beyond their company firewalls.Businesses can develop into expertise-based entities raising the collective intelligence of the organization by allowing all members to easily tap into it.

Studies from IT research firms, such as IDC and Forrester Research, show that senior business executives and line-of-business or departmental leaders who are becoming increasingly influential in IT decisions, prefer industry-specific solutions to generic tools.*  These business leaders are inclined to make investments only when they see tangible business improvements within their industry context, rather than the newest technology.

“Leading research firms report that IBM's deep industry expertise is unmatched by any competitor," said Alistair Rennie, general manager, IBM Lotus Software. "Each industry has unique roles and work patterns that are encumbered by established norms and the inability to find the right expert, information, or tool to get the job done quickly.     Companies are asking how they can make the greatest impact by freeing people from the hard-wired organizational barriers that hinder their business results."

  
IBM's new initiative is designed to support multiple industries including healthcare, banking, insurance and government through a matrix of IBM industry and services teams from IBM's Software Laboratories, Global Business Services and Global Technology Services. The Collaboration Agenda will be immediately available in North America, the United Kingdom and Germany with global expansion to follow.

  
Collaboration Agendas Generate Measurable Business Results

Celina Insurance Group, an Ohio-based insurance company, has embraced IBM's Collaboration Agenda  allowing it to write more premiums with fewer staff.  Improving collaboration between its employees and agents has proven to be a strategic advantage for Celina as it focused on increasing ease of doing business.  Through instant messaging and an online portal, agents reduced turnaround time on new policies from weeks to days.  Customers can now manage their policies directly and connect to experts when they have questions. Advanced collaboration technology allowed them to hire top talent in other cities in the US who were unable to relocate to Celina, OH but who could collaborate in real-time with other employees, agents and their customers.

  
"We've been able to greatly improve efficiency, resulting in a 25 percent increase in premiums with 40 percent fewer staff," said Rob Shoenfelt, CIO, Celina Insurance Group.

  
In another example, the Missouri Office of Homeland Security (OHS) worked with IBM to implement a collaboration agenda to overcome limited situational awareness, siloed departments and out-dated technology.  The Missouri OHS coordinates the work of state agencies to provide emergency response, disaster preparedness and public safety awareness to the citizens of the state.

Prior to its collaboration planning with IBM, the Missouri OHS had limited communications, hampering the ability for people in different departments and agencies to work together.  For example, state and local operations centers were required to dial into scheduled conference calls for updates.   This system resulted in delays in receiving information during emergencies and limited their ability to proactively respond with solutions or aid during crises. This also impaired decision-makers' ability to assess unfolding situations.

Once an agenda-planning process was undertaken, roles of individuals and their interaction patterns were evaluated, leading to a wide range of benefits.  The Missouri OHS transformed into a dynamic, expertise-based organization capable of faster, better decisions and actions.

"We're getting fantastic (emergency) response times -- about four times faster than we were getting on Microsoft SQL implementations," said David Finch, special assistant, Missouri OHS.

The new Missouri OHS now acts as a communications hub for over 1,200 officials across the state using portal technology for video-conferencing, sharing of images and instant messaging. Employees are able to instantly initiate Web conferences or real-time chat sessions with personnel in any department or branch.

Decision-makers can now be appraised of crisis developments as they happen and as a result be more proactive role in response. Meanwhile, base operations can better coordinate statewide responses and achieve a new level of situational awareness of developments through "eyes in the field." Most critically, responders can now collaborate efficiently with first responders in other agencies and departments, delivering the best possible assistance when and where it's most needed using mobile devices and handheld radios.

  
Lastly, Hendricks Regional Health needed to improve the way its employees collaborated.  Paper-based forms and offline contact methods made it hard to track emergency pages to doctors and caused inefficiencies in how nurses found procedure information or tracked patient medical records.  EMTs filled in forms in triplicate, with the third page often becoming illegible. Too much time was being spent trying to manage the information versus focusing on the patient.

Through electronic files that can be shared online among the practitioners and an automated emergency paging system, Hendricks Regional Health was able to improve response time and  the quality of care by ensuring shared knowledge across job roles.  As a result, medical personnel are able to spend their time with their patients instead of spending time on the process.

+ Harris Interactive Poll, 2009

  
* 2009 IDC Vertical Group Survey, “US Vertical and Company Size Spending Intentions,” July 2009 - Doc # 21946; Forrester Research, “The State of Enterprise Software: 2009”, June 2009

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IBM Client for Smart Work Available Through Business Partners in India

Businesses Flock to Offer, Adopt Cloud and Linux Collaboration Package with IBM LotusLive

ORLANDO, FL and BANGALORE, India – 18 January 2010 : LOTUSPHERE – IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced the immediate availability of IBM Client for Smart Work in India through business partners. The IBM Client for Smart Work, IBM and Canonical's popular cloud-and Linux-based desktop package, is designed to help companies do more with less and lower desktop computing costs by up to 50 percent.

CIO's, IT directors and IT architects from all types of organizations in India, even those that typically cannot afford new PCs, can now gain immediate access to collaboration capabilities to help them work smarter, with the simple download of the IBM Client for Smart Work onto various thin clients, such as netbooks and other devices.

 
“Government leaders, CEOs and CIOs are seeking an open, cost effective and collaboration rich client strategy to leapfrog into the 21st century,” said Pradeep Nair, director of IBM India Software Group. "The IBM Client for Smart Work solution brings together the strengths of cloud-based collaboration, virtual desktops, netbook devices and open source, supported by a strong ecosystem of business partners, to help Indian innovators harness the next wave of growth.”

The collaboration package runs on Ubuntu Linux operating system available from Canonical and provides the option to deliver collaboration through the Web in a cloud service model. The Client comes with IBM Lotus Symphony, IBM LotusLive iNotes/Connections and IBM Lotus Notes/Domino, with the option to add IBM Lotus Connections and IBM WebSphere Portal, as well as virtual desktop capabilities using VERDE from Virtual Bridges.

With the mounting interest in this solution, IBM today also announced that Simmtronics Semiconductors will ship their new Simmbooks (netbooks) with IBM Client for Smart Work on Ubuntu already preloaded to clients in India, US, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, UK, and Vietnam.

"We launched Simmbooks based on the high demand for netbook type devices for enterprises worldwide," said Indrajit Sabharwal, managing director, Simmtronics Semiconductors. "Delivering Simmbooks with IBM Client for Smart Work on Ubuntu will help our customers lower their total cost of ownership and be on the forefront of innovation." 
  
IBM is also establishing Academic Initiative Centers of Excellence on IBM Client for Smart Work and advanced analytics at Indian engineering colleges and universities, in partnership with Kerala Information Technology Alliance (KITA), a non-profit consortium based out of New York. This includes Rajagiri School of Engineering and Technology, Saintgits College of Engineering, Kottayam and College of Engineering Chengannur in the State of Kerala.

  
KITA is collaborating with IBM, Zyxware Technologies and Canonical to pilot IBM Client for Smart Work and associated virtual desktop capabilities at the IT Park in the State of Kerala, India.

"Developing countries worldwide are looking for ways to optimize IT costs and at the same time make use of emerging technologies to bypass tough roads driven by their predecessors," said George Abraham, CTO of United Nations Pension Fund and Chairman of KITA. "IBM Client for Smart Work will be a real enabler to accelerate establishment of smart cities and villages in countries like India, where overcoming traditional boundaries using social networks and leveraging the dynamics of a global flat world is driving domestic growth.”

  
A growing ecosystem of partners including Zyxware Technologies in India, and more than 40 business partners through Virtual Bridges, a company that provides the virtual Linux desktop capabilities using VERDE, are offering the IBM Client for Smart Work to clients around the world.  ZSL, a leading ISV and Global Software Solutions and Services provider, announced “PowerCube” Desktop as a Service solution powered by IBM Client for Smart Work in India, US and Africa. The “PowerCube” is a comprehensive desktop solution and includes IBM's open collaborative and productive components –  Lotus Notes and Lotus Symphony on Ubuntu Linux in the cloud or on-premise. In addition, Virtual Bridges announced new customers, including ShvinTech with cloud partner KalariSys, and partners adopting IBM Client for Smart Work.

  
Canonical will also support Lotus Symphony, a key component of IBM Client for Smart Work, available through business partners, to help clients adopt IBM Client for Smart Work on Ubuntu. This will be initially available in the US.

  
IBM today also announced the unveiling of a new IBM Open Company Center in the IBM Innovation Center in Waltham, MA. The center will give IBM business partners and clients hands-on experience with the IBM Client for Smart Work on Ubuntu and Red Hat. It will showcase a variety of use-cases including logging into a virtual Linux desktop using a memory stick, using different Linux-based netbooks along with laptops, desktops and thin other hardware clients. The Center will also provide banking, education, government and healthcare specific demos.

  
This new center in Waltham joins similar IBM Open Company Centers around the world including those in Germany, Spain, Italy, France and Netherlands.

Learn more about IBM Client for Smart Work at ibm.com/lotus/openclient

Learn more about IBM Symphony at symphony.lotus.com  

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IBM Unveils a New Vision for Collaboration for a Smarter Planet

ORLANDO, FL – 18 January 2010: LOTUSPHERE – Today IBM unveiled IBM Project Vulcan, a blueprint for the future of collaboration.

  
Building on a company's existing investments, IBM Project Vulcan enables breakthrough approaches to reduce personal information overload and improve business agility,  empowering  people to drive better business results.

IBM Project Vulcan is designed to exploit the convergence of:

·         Cloud and on-premise systems

·         Collaborative Services business applications and social networks

·         Desktops, netbooks and mobile devices

  
IBM Project Vulcan is the first expression of the advanced properties needed to create next generation collaboration systems.  Social analytics, pioneered by IBM Research will be used to reduce the growing problem of personal information overload by providing recommendations to locate expertise, relevant content, and critical business events.

Designed as a loosely coupled architecture, it will work with existing open systems and provide flexibility and responsiveness to rapidly changing business requirements and personal preferences.  IBM Project Vulcan is designed to allow developers to create new generations of applications powered by collaboration.
The capabilities of IBM Project Vulcan will be delivered in future releases of products such as LotusLive, Lotus Notes and Domino, Lotus Connections, Quickr and WebSphere Portal.

IBM plans to deliver a beta of a development environment in the second half of 2010 on LotusLive Labs.