Customer Reviews

IBM Lotus Connections 2.5: Planning and Implementing Social Software for Your Enterprise

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I am not unfamiliar with IBM Lotus Connections, I have seen it demonstrated at many Lotus conferences and know of several local organizations that leverage the software. I understand the allure of social software, for example LinkedIn and Facebook. However, I have not looked closely at IBM Lotus Connections. After reading IBM Lotus Connections 2.5: Planning and Implementing Social Software for Your Enterprise, by Stephen Hardison, David Byrd, Gary Wood, Tim Speed, Michael Martin, Suzanne Livingston, Jason Moore, and Morten Kristiansen, I believe that I have a firm understanding of IBM Lotus Connections and, more importantly, the importance and benefits of social software within the enterprise.

Contents:
Foreword
Acknowledgements
About the Authors
Chapter 1: Social Networking Concepts
Chapter 2: Introducing Lotus Connections 2.5
Chapter 3: Lotus Connections Architecture
Chapter 4: Deployment Planning
Chapter 5: Install Planning
Chapter 6: Using Lotus Connections
Chapter 7: Administering Lotus Connections
Chapter 8: Extending Lotus Connections to Other Applications
Chapter 9: Using the Lotus Connections API
Chapter 10: Plug-Ins and Widgets

The authors take what I believe is a rather complex idea and software package and break it down into easy to understand concepts and procedures. Starting with a chapter on social networking, they explain the reasons for such software in the enterprise, This chapter should not be skipped, it is critical to the understanding of the rest of the book and is important to anyone even thinking about implementing social software within their organization. If you are currently having issues with acceptance of social software or wondering how to include more people in it, this chapter will help. After the introduction, we dive into Lotus Connections, but not all at once. The authors allow the reader to dip their toes into it, get used to one area, and then move deeper into the pool. It is a very effective teaching tool. Easily moving from the architecture to the planning to the installation, the reader will have no problem attempting to install Lotus Connections once those chapters have been finished. However, the authors do not stop there, they segue into using the software, administering it, and extending it in ways that you may not have considered. The end result is not only an excellent review and resource for IBM Lotus Connections but also a solid understanding of the value of social software in your organization.

As I am very familiar with IBM Press, I was not worried about reading a book authored by eight individuals. The editing, flow, and voice makes it very difficult, even impossible, to discern the individuals. However, the reader is provided with a solid resource for implementing, managing, and extending Lotus Connections authored by some of the best Connections technical minds and writers at IBM. I felt that once I finished the book, I was ready to install, at the very least, the pilot version of Lotus Connections. I realize that this may be a stretch, but this book certainly arms you with the knowledge to accomplish that task. Once you have the software installed and working, there will come a time where you will want to extend it to other applications. Whether you use Lotus Notes, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Office, Lotus Sametime,SocialText, or Confluence, this book covers it. If you have other needs, the chapter on the Connections API should help. While it isn't an exhaustive look at the API, it will get you started and also provide you with additional resources. Overall, IBM Lotus Connections 2.5: Planning and Implementing Social Software for Your Enterprise, by Stephen Hardison, David Byrd, Gary Wood, Tim Speed, Michael Martin, Suzanne Livingston, Jason Moore, and Morten Kristiansen, is another excellent book from IBM Press, one that demonstrates to the reader the value of social software to the organization and to the individual in general, and a deeper understanding of Lotus Connections 2.5 in particular.

Disclosure:
Obtained from: Publisher
Payment: Free

For chapters 7 and 9 alone I'd call this book a must-have, but each chapter is invaluable to anyone planning, deploying, or maintaining an IBM Lotus Connections 2.5 environment.

Still, there are some people that might want to legitimately pass on this book, and as a result:

I would recommend this book to the following people:

- Systems Administrators, Application Developers, and IT Professionals interesting in learning more about IBM Lotus Connections 2.5.
This book can give you excellent talking points to quickly help you become an internal advocate for IBM Lotus Connections as social software in your organization.
- Systems Administrators, Application Developers, IT Professionals, and IT Consultants (in particular, yellow bleeders) interested in adding IBM Lotus Connections platform expertise to your skill set.
This book is an excellent introduction to the platform that quickly ramps-up for more advanced implementations, integration, and customization.

I would not recommend this book to the following people:

- Systems Administrators, Application Developers, and IT Professionals who have deployed, maintain, and customized several Connections environments.
While the examples are excellent, after your 5th time doing it you're more than likely an old hand, and your extending the Connections environment skills have gone far beyond introductory-level.
- Management (IT or otherwise) looking to understand social networking and social platforms for business.
This book specifically talks to IBM Lotus Connections 2.5, and it's scope is to not teach someone what social software for the enterprise is out of that context.

i got this book to help me work with IBM customers who are planning to install and use Lotus connections and it really helps me work out in practical terms how to get value out of the software, and what a decent adoption plan looks like : i like the focus on quick returns. the authors have thought a lot about the background, the nature of human collaboration and clearly reflect the need for culture and technology to work together to enable a fully collaborative organisation. one really important take-away is the collaboration-as-a-service framework underneath the software - the idea is as much to dress existing application (web- and rich-client) in collaborative experiences from the powerful set of data exposed thru the connections apis. and there's a good chapter for developers on getting started there. all in all, a must-read for anyone adopting IBM Lotus Connections and a bit of a lesson on important aspects of an enterprise social software suite for proiuct developers too, i'd imagine.

What I like about the book is that it truly covers every aspect of a Lotus Connections deployment. From creating awareness by explaining Social Networking, to planning the deployment and planning the installation, to administering Lotus Connections, to integrating with other products, to developing custom made widgets for Lotus Connections.

My personal favorite is Chapter 4 which talks about planning the deployment. It's about setting goals and measurement of these goals, it's about integrating it in your business and about planning the governance. The reason I like it, is because it forces the reader to think about Lotus Connections as a means to an end and not as a goal by itself.

The only risk I see with this book is that is serves different target audiences: from business, to admins, to developers and it's rare that a person is interested in all of these roles.

However, well worth a read for everybody interested in Lotus Connections and interested in deploying Social Networking initiatives.

IBM Lotus Connections 2.5 provides a fine key to leveraging social networks using Lotus Connections 2.5, offering the first book to cover this product. From building networks that promote agility to discussing how this new product can streamline operations and be successfully implemented, IBM Lotus Connections 2.5 offers a solid pick for any computer library.