Lotus brand gives way to SmartCloud

In a clear indication that the Lotus brand no longer carries the clout it once did, IBM is renaming LotusLive as SmartCloud for Social Business.

The new SmartCloud for Social Business platform includes LotusLive and provides access to social networking, file sharing, online meetings, enterprise-class email, calendaring and instant messaging, all through the Cloud.

Alistair Rennie, GM of Social Business at IBM, commented:   

New IBM Docs web-based collaborative editors for word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations will also be available through SmartCloud for Social Business once it is released in the second half of the year.

Mike Rhodin, senior vice president of the IBM Software Solutions Group, said the rebranding of LotusLive also reflected IBM's desire to have a single brand of SmartCloud across all its software as a service and Cloud infrastructure offerings.

Chefs at Newly Weds Foods, a world leader in food ingredient technology, have reduced department travel and meeting costs by 10 percent using the IBM SmartCloud for Social Business services to collaborate and share information and ideas online, including new region-appropriate recipes and menus as well as ingredients such as sauces, batters, breading and seasonings.

SmartCloud services are used to facilitate online meetings, social networking, brainstorming and online information sharing, saving Newly Weds Foods time and money spent on travel expenses, teleconference fees and in-person meetings.

The company's MIS department has also reduced expenses by using the IBM service. Instead of traveling to teach remote employees and new divisions how to use new and existing technology tools, the MIS manager now conducts the training from the comfort of his office, saving both time and travel expenses. The research and development department recently starting using the service as well.

Bob Brindza, Manager, management information systems (MIS), Newly Weds Foods, commented: