What's Hot in IBM Connections Pink?

Pink seems to be a very popular color for 2017. But apart from the social and political explosion of the color, IBM has also code named their upcoming Connections offering as IBM Connections Pink. Considering that "Big Blue" is going pink, at least to their internal teams, the message is clear from the start that this marks something new - a radical change from their traditional approach to software updates.

IBM declares that Connections Pink is cognitive, seamless, open and flexible, and it is the future of business collaboration.

Here is a round-up of several of the best articles and blog posts explaining Connections Pink for particular perspectives.

What is Pink and where does it fit in the Connections Product line?

IBM provided a great deal of information at the IBM Connect 2017 conference to kick off Connections Pink, and set the table for why this is going to be huge. Highlights of the updates for Connections 6.0 and Pink, both expected in 2017, can be found in the IBM Blog entry "IBM Connections: Ten Years of Innovation and More to Come. This is particularly helpful for senior management and strategic planners to get a high-level view of the terrain.

How is IBM Connections Pink Going to Work?

Blogger Gabriella over at The Turtle Partnership Blog gets quite a bit more technical with a breakdown of the underlying components and integration plans. She has a number of entries on Connections and collaboration in general, but if you’re wanting to take a peek under the hood, see her entry "CONNECTIONS FUTURES – IBM CONNECT REVIEW #3"

What's Different in Delivery of Pink?

Another way IBM Connections Pink will be different is how it is delivered. There is of course a pre-requisite baseline, Connections 6.0, but after that, Pink promises to be a completely different delivery model. Brad Shimmin provides some information on this in his article "At IBM the Future of Collaboration Isn’t Rosy. It’s Pink!"

Your Future is Ready to be Served!

With Connections 6.0 being defined as essentially the entry point for Pink, early adopters will be happy to know that IBM announced general availability for download beginning Friday, March 31. Connections 6.0 is a significant upgrade of it's own right, and one companies will likely want to gain mastery with prior to taking advantage of Pink enhancements. For the IT department, "What's new in IBM Connections 6" will be a good place to start, with links to several other more detailed instructions. For example, two key end user elements delivered with Connections 6.0 are the "Orient Me" home page and the "IBM Connections Touchpoint" app.

• Orient Me is a card-based home page that helps users focus on things that are important to them and be able to tune out the noise.
• The Touchpoint app is a guided introduction designed to quickly help educate, orientate and engage users. While particularly helpful for new Connections users, it will also be valuable to help experienced Connections users become familiar with the enhancements and changes.

As Connections 6.0 begins to be deployed, and then Pink enhancements follow later this year, there will be a lot more written. Many software integrators are already excited about the new API-centric platform and the industry should see a plenty of innovation and growth spurred by Connections Pink. But in the world of collaborative computing, one thing is absolutely clear - "Big Blue" has got the "hot's" for Pink!

Want to learn more about going Pink?