News

Latest news from the Let’sConnect user group

25/042016

Sponsor Spotlight: Kudos

News boston, prague, soccnx, sponsors, stockholm, switzerland, toronto, zurich by Lars Samuelsson

So, Social Connections 10 is approaching at breakneck speed and we’re busy preparing for the event on every free minute we can find.

Today we want to slow things down just a little bit to put the spotlight of one of our core sponsors, they have been with us for many events, for which we are truly grateful.

Our ISW friends from down under brings you Kudos!

Check out http://www.kudosbadges.com for a look at a truly great product that extends IBM Connections to new levels!

Please take your time to see these guys at their booth and listen to what they offer, it’s great.

22/042016

The Heat Is On: The Agenda for Social Connections 10 in Toronto is published!

News 10, agenda, heat, published, socialconnections, toronto by Maria Nordin

The last week have been busy in the team! The weekly run, the dog walk, that extra coffee break or the after work with friends were all cancelled. Our joined forces has been pointed in one direction only. The Agenda!

First, thank you all for submitting such interesting and professional abstracts! Just to read through them all was a treat in itself, and to get to chose from them an even bigger one. I can reveal that our scheduled team meeting where we concluded our votes doubled in time and discussions ran high.

And now we are done! The agenda is published! The mix of sessions is awesome. Both within the different tracks and in total. You will surely recognize some familiar names among our speakers, but also a bunch of new ones. This is what I like most. Our community is constantly growing, moving changing, evolving. To the better!

For example we will give you insight in the very large company Lowe’s journey to become a Collaborative Company. And IBM’s Take on the Future told by Sarah Gibbons, Luis Benitez and Christopher Crummey.

We are also proud to present to you 10 fresh case studies! Learn best practices and listen to those who have solved problems you might struggle with right now.

Or an interesting Case Study: Win, Win, Win: Changing Attitudes, Adopting Socail and Going Green with Graham Acres, Brytek Systems Inc. and Delores Beier, A&W Food Services of Canada Inc. Last but not least Best and worst practices deploying IBM Connections with Christoph Stoettner and Nico Meisenzahl, panagenda.

So now, when we in the team (only momentarily) fold back our desk chairs, stretch our legs and gaze out through the window, you only got one thing to do:

Register for this amazing event which will give you sparking ideas, networking, knowledge sharing and social seeds planting.

/Maria (your friendly Social Connections team member)

P.S. Today we counted 18 IBM Champions who will speak, network and mingle around the conference. That number will most likely change.

11/042016

Social Connections Keynote – The return of ‘Pardon the interruption’ a Future of Work brain dump!

News #PTIFoW, PTI by Jan Valdman

If you attended IBM Connect13, one of the highlights of the event had to be the “Pardon the interruption’ session. This was a session that got everyone talking and we are please to announce that for our event in Toronto, the “3 Luis’s” – Luis Suarez, Luis Benitez and Luis Guirigay will come together to discuss the hot topics that YOU the audience would like to question them on!

In the fashion of ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption” we’ll share ideas and opinions on a list of topics that you have a chance to influence ahead of the session. Tweet your topic suggestion or question to #PTIFoW and we’ll include as many as possible in the time allowed. The pace will be quick and the conversations and interactions will be lively and passionate (and a bit opinionated, too!). This is a “don’t miss” keynote session for anyone wanting to be a part of a Future of Work brain dump!

So, what are you waiting for? Register now and join us in a session designed to cover a myriad of different topics around the nature … and future of work.

08/042016

Last push for abstracts – we know you have it in you!

News abstracts, Speakers by Lars Samuelsson

Hi Everyone!

Now it’s time to push those last few abstracts in. We know that you have a lot on your plates, as we all do. But we’d love to hear from you at Social Connections.

What’s your take on the future of work? How has IBM Connections (on premise or Cloud) helped you and your organisation become more social and efficient? Can the watercooler be removed now that we have a virtual one? The possibilities are endless (unlike my imagination, as you might see here).

We have extended the abstract submission deadline until Thursday the 14th of April, at 2PM CET.. That’s 8PM EST for you east coasters, and probably very very early for the rest of you.

We do have a great lineup so far, big thanks for all the submitted abstracts, but we’d like to see a few more!

Maybe you are a first time speaker? No worries! This is the perfect place to get your feet wet, trust me on that one. My first speaking engagement was at Social Connection 8, and it was a great experience for me personally. Had a lot of fun and got great feedback to help out my future speaking engagements.

So come on! Get your abstracts in! Click here!

Can’t wait to see and hear from you in Toronto!

07/042016

Game time! Do you want to visit Hockey Hall of Fame with us in Toronto this June?

News gala night, hhof, hockey hall of fame, soccnx by Maria Nordin

We sure we do! That is why we have booked it just for you and all our attendees at Social Connections 10 in Toronto!

We always want to make our Gala night an extra treat for our guests, and this time is no exception. Say “Toronto” out loud and you immediately think of “maple leaf”, “maple syrup” and “ice hockey”. So let’s go with Ice Hockey.

Welcome to an extra special night at the famous Hockey Hall of Fame! Closed for other guests, exclusive use just for us!

With delicious food and the company of dear friends (and some suprises we have lined up for you!) we can almost certain promise you a great time!

For example: Interactive games are available! The impressive NHLPA Be A Player Zone, features the famed Shoot Out and Shut Out. These two games reside on the zone’s 2,400 square – foot simulated rink, complete with an overlooking gondola, two fan stands, arena rink boards and a multimedia scoreboard. We also have the Broadcast Zone, where you can choose from a menu of classic hockey games and then put yourself behind the microphone to try your hand at calling the action. Or why not take the opportunity to compete against each other in the ‘Game time Challenge’ to test their knowledge of the world of hockey.

Toronto’s premier hockey attraction is home of the Stanley Cup and the best of hockey, you can DO IT ALL…AT THE HALL. We can go one-on-one against life-size, animated versions of today’s greatest goalies and shooters; call the play-by-play of some of hockey’s greatest goals; get up close and personal with the Stanley Cup; explore the largest collection of hockey memorabilia in the world – A museum and entertainment destination like no other, the Hockey Hall of Fame is fun for all!

This is a night to be #social. So it doesn’t matter which team you support, or if you don’t understand the game of hockey at all. Join us on this fabulous night with good food, friends and fun!
Hockey Hall of Fame is just a few minutes walk from our conference venue. So you can easily walk there in your ice skating shoes!

Our event sponsors for the Gala night is panagenda! Be sure to visit them in their booth at the conference, and also over a bite to eat during the evening.

04/042016

The Design Track is back by popular demand!

News Design, Tracks by Lars Samuelsson

Good news everyone!

A popular part of the Boston event is back for another run!

The design track of sessions that IBM presented at Social Connections in Boston, with the focus on the Design Thinking strategy of IBM and what comes out of it is returning!

In this track you will learn how IBM are bringing their design thinking into products like Verse and Toscana. We’ll be treated to a session on how designing IBM Verse led to the idea of “A New Way To Work” (Margo Ezekiel & Jen Heinz), how to evolve teamworking with the help of Project Toscana (Ami Dewar), and you will be asked to help out in some activities related to design thinking and IBM Design. Ethan Perry and Erika Varga will discuss how to stay oriented with design thinking, while Joe Russo and Jodi Rajaniemi are speaking on Design Thinking for Application Development.

As I write this post, I realise that it’s been about a year since IBM Verse was released. The design process behind IBM verse could be described as a starting point for the design thinking that we are now seeing in all ICS offerings as well as in other parts of IBM.

So why not Register now and join us for this great track that gives a good insight into the future of IBM, yes a pretty bold statement, but design can sure make a BIG difference.

29/032016

Social Connections Keynote with Luis Benitez – IBM’s Take on the Future of Work

News keynotes by Simon Vaughan

The Social Connections team are please to announce another keynote presentation at our event in Toronto on June 6th and 7th (at the St. Andrew’s conference Centre) – Luis Benitez presenting IBM’s Take on the Future of Work.

IBM’s Enterprise Social Solutions provides the platform of tools you need to transform your organization into a social business, enabling you to reach your customers and partners faster, drive innovation, share content and expertise, and complete work faster.

Last year, you heard our vision for a #NewWaytoWork. Today, we will show you what the future of working together with new innovations for personal insights, teamwork, and more. This session will explore our open strategy for Box and Exchange support, and how we will provide a persistent workplace for small teams. Join us and see first hand where IBM Enterprise Social Solutions will take you in the future!
Luis Benitez is the Product Management Leader in the IBM Social Software team. Luis has been helping customers embark on their Social Business transformation since 2007. As part of the product management team, Luis is responsible for the social, mobile, and app dev strategy for IBM Collaboration Solutions, driving the feature requirements into the product plans, understanding market needs and pain points, expanding business opportunities and naturally evangelizing IBM technologies to name a few. Luis spends a good portion of his time helping customers and partners think about how they can use IBM social technologies to help change the way they work.

Luis has been at IBM for 14 years and has held a variety of positions specializing in the collaboration space in addition to the social area. Luis can be found on Twitter at @Lbenitez and at his blog site – Socialize Me

To book your place at the event, register now (and take advantage of our Early bird offer which expires at the end of March!) – Register now!

17/032016

Sponsor highlight: TIMETOACT GROUP

News by Maria Nordin

Time to highlight another one of our highly valued Gold sponsors. We say our thanks to:

TIMETOACT GROUP provides professional services for IBM Software, Microsoft Software, Google Software and open standards. The group includes the companies edcom, BLUETRADE, CLOUDPILOTS, novaCapta, TIMETOACT and X-INTEGRATE. With more than 200 employees, TIMETOACT GROUP is one of the largest IBM Software Services providers in DACH. TIMETOACT GROUP is located in several locations in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

http://www.timetoact-group.com