This document is a slide presentation comparing IBM Connections and Microsoft Office 365 from a social collaboration perspective. Some key points made in the presentation include: - Office 365's tools like Yammer, SharePoint, and OneDrive are not well integrated, creating complexity for users. - IBM Connections keeps everything together in one place for a simpler user experience. - Office 365's roadmap for social collaboration features has been unclear with different tools introduced over time like Yammer, Groups, and Teams. - IBM Connections provides better notifications and integration across communities and files.

1. Social Connections 11 Chicago, June 1-2 2017
IBM Connections vs. O365
Episode III
Jan Valdman, Whitesoft
@jan_valdman

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3. Social Connections 11 Chicago, June 1-2 2017
About me

4. Social Connections 11 Chicago, June 1-2 2017
The story of this presentation
• Episode I
• Boston, Stuttgart 2015
• http://www.slideshare.net/soccnx/ib
m-connections-vs-office-365
• 7500 views
• Episode II
• Toronto, Prague 2016
• http://www.slideshare.net/soccnx/ib
m-connections-vs-office-365-
episode-ii
• 2000 views

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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Cloud offerings change very quickly so the information might be outdated when you read it.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

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Competitors (?)

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Features & functions comparison does not work

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O365 vs Connections 3.0.1
https://www.getapp.com/collaboration-software/a/microsoft-office-365/compare/ibm-connections/

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Yammer vs. Connections 3.0.1
https://www.getapp.com/collaboration-software/a/yammer/compare/ibm-connections/

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Sharepoint vs Connections vs Wrike(???)
https://comparisons.financesonline.com/ibm-connections-vs-sharepoint

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Yammer vs Connections vs Wrike
https://comparisons.financesonline.com/ibm-connections-vs-yammer

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Connections vs Yammer
https://www.trustradius.com/compare-products/ibm-connections-vs-microsoft-yammer

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How do they compare each other?

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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

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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

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

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What I have learned

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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”

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What companies do and say
• I 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”

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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

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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

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Do you want to pay 80 % more for your Office?

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A message from Amy Hood, Microsoft CFO
http://www.computerworld.com/article/2919935/enterprise-applications/pssst-office-365-customers-pay-microsoft-up-to-80-more-over-long-haul.html

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Why customers love IBM Connections?

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How IBM Connections works

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Everything at one place

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Everything is at one place

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

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A file can be shared/linked everywhere

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

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Pain points in O365

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

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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?

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This is what O365 users see after sign-in

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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

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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.

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

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No, they are only 5-10 years behind ☺
• In my country, MSFT nowadays speaks about
• Collaboration
• Working from any place
using any device
• Millenials
• #newwaytowork
• etc.

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They can’t even sell O365/social well
• Yammer
• Planner
• Teams

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Reason #1 - Complexity

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

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What O365 users need

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What O365 users might use (if trained)

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… and what O365 users get

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Does it make sense to pile up features?

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Example: files in Yammer

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… files in OneDrive…

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… files in in SharePoint

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And now in Teams

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..which are (not?) in Sherepoint

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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

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

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When to use what in O365…

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Complexity kills productivity & adoption

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IBM Connections – just enough tools

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Reason #2 - Roadmap

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SharePoint is not evolving (much)

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So where is the innovation?
• Delve?
• Video?
• Groups?
• Planner?
• Teams?

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Social/collaboration 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
• 11/2016 MS introduced Teams

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Yammer compared to IBM Connections

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O365 now has Teams
• Built on top of
Sharepoint
• a feature, not a
product (unlike
Slack)

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months
Pick the right tool
dayshoursminutes
wiki
forum
blog
chat

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

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Opinion: Yammer is dead man walking
$1.2 billion mistake?

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Unclear roadmap, limited innovation

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Reason #3 – Notifications

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I am a member of 76 communities…

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And I am still updated in a single stream

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

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Reason #4 – The Theory

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

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

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

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Does not work in theory, does not work inpractice

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Conclusions

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Let us do some math
• More collaboration = more innovation
• More tools = more collaboration
• More tools = more innovation

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The three collaboration killers

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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 (will Teams
help?)

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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

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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 Sharepoint sites

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Remember
There are more than 365
reasons to use IBM
Connections
☺ ☺ ☺

83. Social Connections 11 Chicago, June 1-2 2017
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.
WhiteBots
For IBM Connections

84. Social Connections 11 Chicago, June 1-2 2017
Bots for hire!
Robert Reminder
Hi, I am Robert. I can check all your to-dos in IBM Connections Activities and send
you an e-mail reminder once their deadline approaches (3 days before, 1 day
before) and on the due date. I will also remind you for all overdue items.
What’s even better, I will notify everybody who has been appointed a task by you,
so hopefully you will never wait for your colleagues to finish their tasks. Just add
me as a member of any Activity where you need reminders.
Edward External
Hi, my name is Edward. I can make your files shareable with external users. You
know, such feature is sometimes needed when you have forgoten to click THAT
checkbox during file upload Or you may change your mind and need to share some
files externally later? Just share a file or folder with me and I will make them yellow

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