A look at the recent research published by Gartner and Forrester, a comparison of pricing models from different vendors and what decisions should be considered when choosing technologies for social computing and online collaboration

1. 
Analysis of Cloud Platforms for
Social Software in theWorkplace
and Online CollaborationTools
Sharon Richardson
Joining Dots October 2012
Web: www.joiningdots.com
Twitter: @joiningdots

2. Presentation Notes
 A brief summary of the recent summary analysis released by
Gartner and Forrester (September 2012)
 Decision criteria when considering a move to online
collaboration software/social software in the workplace
 A review of the pricing models and feature comparisons
between the vendors featured in the analysis
 All product names, logos, brands and other trademarks referred
to within this presentation are the property of their respective
trademark holders
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3. Gartner Magic Quadrant: Social Software
 Usual suspects dominate
the leader quadrant
 Microsoft gets extra
points thanks to Yammer
acquisition
 Most niche players aren’t
offering a complete
platform
 No Google listed…
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www.joiningdots.comSource: Jive - http://www.jivesoftware.com/
resources/analyst-coverage/register-gartner-mq-2012-ssiw

4. Gartner Magic Quadrant: Social CRM
 Two markets colliding?
 Traditionally an
enterprise application
rather than platform
 Is Salesforce moving
beyond CRM?
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Source: Forbes – http://www.forbes.com/
sites/louiscolumbus/2012/10/02/
gartners-magic-quadrant-for-social-crm-and-the-social-enterprise/

5. ForresterWave: Online Collaboration
 Interesting mix
of vendors
 Merged CRM and
collaboration
 Google makes an
appearance
 …and Citrix (Podio
acquisition)
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Source: Microsoft -
http://blogs.office.com/b/microsoft_office_365_blog/archive/2012/09/28/
microsoft-leader-cloud-collaboration-.aspx

6. Decision Criteria
 Do you have a preferred vendor?
 Platform or specific scenario?
 Intended life span?
 Size matters
 Do prices matter?
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7. PreferredVendor
 If you already have a preferred vendor for information-
based systems and social software, as long as they are on
the list, unlikely to change. Familiar tools for users
 Deciding to change would indicate a major shift in strategy
… or a pet project (see also: Intended Lifespan)
 Moving online and mobile may warrant a re-evaluation of
traditional vendor choices. Cross-platform device support
and mobile strategy should influence the final decision
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8. Platform vs Specific Scenario
 Platforms should include the basics: email, calendar
sharing, contacts. And usually span a range of categories:
content
management, collaboration, communications, search, etc.
 Niche solutions are often better when experimenting with
specific scenarios for ‘new ways of working’, often offering a
cleaner simpler user interface with fewer features
 Enterprise applications target scenarios that cover end-to-end
processes. Not a platform but may scale as large in terms of
features and complexity
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9. Intended Lifespan
 Anticipated lifespan of the software vendor and lifespan of the
project or system that the software is being used for
 If experimenting with new ways of working and/or pet
projects, lifespan is usually short and an opportunity to try out
niche vendors and new entrants into the market
 …but what if the smaller vendor is acquired? Would it matter?
 If planning a base platform that is expected to last, mainstream
vendors are unlikely to disappear overnight having just invested
$billions in datacenters to host these services
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10. Size Matters
 Successful projects tend to either be very big or very small.
Applies to the software vendor and the buyer
 Niche solutions may have brand names for case studies, but
how many active users are involved? Departmental pet project
or company-wide deployment?
 Few features scale well. It’s why email remains the most
popular collaboration tool… If unsure, aim to run a trial
comparable with the actual solution (e.g. an entire process, not
demo scenario) and size of group it is intended for
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11. Does Price Matter?
 Software licensing is only one part of the cost when implementing
collaborative and social computing solutions
 But moving to online services means moving from single up-front licensing
fees to an recurring monthly subscription for the lifespanof the system,
ranging from free to hundreds of dollars per user per month
 If move online is inevitable for convenience (mobile and remote access),
evaluate what features will realistically be used to choose the most
appropriate subscription plan. Beware issues with migration/upgrade to
different plans later
 If move online is a choice vs on-premise, calculate based on expected
lifespan versus up-front fees as part of the feasibility study
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12. PriceVariations:
Small mainstream platform deployments
Plan Google
Apps
Office 365
P1
Up to 10
users
$0 $6
11 to 50
users
$5 $6
>50 users $5 n/a
 Google Apps for Business is
free for first 10 users, with
some limitations (e.g. 10GB
mailbox vs 25GB mailbox)
 Office 365 P1 is currently
limited to 50 users. Rumoured
to be increasing to 250 in
2013 (unconfirmed)
 There is no upgrade path
from Office 365 P1
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All fees are per user per month

13. PriceVariations:
Larger mainstream platform deployments
Plan Google Apps
for Business
Microsoft
Office 365 E1, E2
IBM SmartCloud
Standard, Advanced, with Archiving
Per
user
$5 + marketplace
subscriptions
$8, $14 $8, $10, $14
 To compete with Office 365 or IBM Smart Cloud (Lotus), would
need more than just Google Apps. Most marketplace apps will incur
additional subscription fees
 Microsoft and IBM offer various plans. Web-only services range
from $8 to $14 for both
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www.joiningdots.com All fees are per user per month

14. PriceVariations:
Niche solution deployments
Plan Jive Huddle Box Igloo
Per user $12 - 18 $15 $11 $12
 Each has a focus: social media and networks (Jive and Huddle),
online collaboration and content management (Box and Igloo).
Maturing products starting to spread scope into platform territory
 Most require a minimum number of users. Igloo sells in blocks of
users, only per user for 100+ users
 Pricing is very similar to larger platform range. And would still need
separate platform for email, could mean dual logins
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www.joiningdots.com All fees are per user per month

15. PriceVariations:
Enterprise Application deployments
Plan Microsoft
Dynamics CRM
Salesfoce
Professional
Salesforce
Enterprise
Oracle CRM
On Demand
Per
user
$44 From $65 From $125 From $75
 Significant price difference compared to mainstream platforms and
niche solutions, targeting complete business processes
 Platform-like features also being introduced for free, e.g. Salesforce
Chatter – Instant messaging client
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www.joiningdots.com All fees are per user per month

16. How to choose?
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Sample Requirements Need basics (email) Don’t need basics
Moving to online
platform instead of on-
premise servers
Choose mainstream platform:
MS, IBM, Google
Are you sure you are ready to
switch? Few can ditch email
completely
Want some basic social
media and networking
capabilities
Try a mainstream platform but
may also need niche solution
if serious about social
Try a niche solution such as
Yammer. Choose one that
offers a free trial
We’re only a small team
or organisation (less than
50 people)
If price sensitive and/or
keeping it simple, try Google
Apps. If tech-savvy business,
consider Office365
If want to experiment with
new working styles, try a
niche solution plus a basic
email service
More details are provided in the related blog post:
http://www.joiningdots.com/blog/2012/10/analysis-
on-cloud-platforms-for-social-business/

17. References
 All sources for images and pricing are included in the related
blog post, along with additional commentary:
http://www.joiningdots.com/blog/2012/10/analysis-on-cloud-
platforms-for-social-business/
 Contact info for more details about this presentation:
Joining Dots
Email: info@joiningdots.com
Web: www.joiningdots.com
Twitter: @joiningdots