N:Sight Research GmbH

Social Messaging Vendor study Management Summary

N:Sight Research GmbH In cooperation with AIIM

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1. Foreword

The phenomenon of “Twitter” has brought a real “jolt” to the online-activities of the post

new economy. Public status updates of real or even fictitious experiences, random thoughts,

and real conversations can all be found on the Internet service, which by now has a total of

175 million registered accounts who combine to send 140 million tweets daily.

The Twitter-principle of publicly shared information offers great potential for optimizing the

information flow in companies. At the same time it makes possible, speeds up and improves

the exchange of information and knowledge in the company. It improves networking

amongst employees and thus optimizes interaction across departments and country borders.

The public platform Twitter is not necessarily an appropriate medium for a company - even if

it may make sense to involve business partners and customers in communication via Social

Messaging. There are several demands, which require customized solutions. New solutions

appeared that address the demands, which in the context of this study will be called “Social

Messaging Solutions”.

What the “Micro-Sharing”-solution is about, which possible solutions exist, and how these

differ is the subject of the N:Sight “Social Messaging Vendor Study”.

2. Content of the study

This paper provides a brief overview about the study and summarizes the results. The

complete study provides a much deeper insight into the topic. After an introduction to the

subject and the derivation of the functional models, the study contains a detailed overview

of each function based on 147 questions. Each of the questions is explained in detail. The

survey for this study was done in autumn 2010. The 17 solutions are shown in a table for

each subject.

Table of Contents

• Definition

• Basic principles and characteristics of implementation concepts

• Potential benefits of Social Messaging

• Comparison of potentials and challenges

• Significance of the solution category for the Enterprise 2.0 initiative

• Architecture of the solution category

• Analysis of the solution concept

• Analysis of the function block "acquisition of the status message"

• Analysis of the function block “processing of the status message"

• Analysis of the function block “distribution of an update“

• User Management

• Content management

• Application management

• Analytics and controlling

• Analyses of the technical system concept

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• Differentiation and allocation of the solution offered

• Differentiation according to functional focus

• Differentiation according to technological concept

• System matrix for Social Messaging solutions

• Market analysis for Social Messaging solutions

• Vendor fact sheets

The questionnaire contains yes/no questions and other ones which had to be answered with

a detailed description. All yes/no questions are displayed with a table like in the example

below.

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The answers to the more detailed questions are listed together. So it is easily to compare all

the solutions by topic.

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3. Social Messaging as infrastructure for communication and interaction in

the company

As part of the new forms of knowledge und collaboration, “Social Messaging” is being

understood increasingly as infrastructure for communication and interaction due to the use

of social software concepts. In the following, the principles as well as the challenges and

potentials of the different system approaches will be discussed.

4. Definition

Within a broad definition, Social Messaging has to be understood as public exchange of

information in real time and with indefinite addressees. This definition distinguishes the

approach clearly from other “classical” in-company forms of communication and exchange:

� Email: defined addresses; communication not in real-time

� Blogs & Forums: undefined number of people; communication not in real-time

� Instant Messaging: offers real-time communication with defined addresses;

group-chat-function possible.

� Social Messaging: public status update; undefined or not directly known

addresses; exchange in nearly real-time possible

The restriction of the term Social Messaging to communication and exchange offers a useful

differentiation from other in-company communication tools; however, with regards to the

development of methods of resolution in this field of application it is not satisfactory.

Rather, the understanding must release the reference "status message" to be interpreted as

a pure message. Therefore, the shared message has to be understood rather as a general

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“micro-information”, which has also shaped the development towards an understanding and

description of the solution category.

Over the last years, several terms have been used to describe the solution market. They

define the different levels of understanding of the solution:

� Enterprise Twitter (emergence at the end of 2008): This first definition described

the in-company use of Twitter.

� Enterprise Microblogging: This term developed in the middle of 2009, to explicitly

distinguish themselves from the original definition.

� Social Messaging: The exchange of messages also develops a social structure with

networking effects, followed by extended information and communication

benefits. With the term “Social Messaging”, the “social” effects of such a platform

were to be underlined.

� Micro Sharing: Many approaches for the in-company use have increasingly

broken up its input options and offer structured content input. That way, e.g.

links, references to documents, locations, and many other content formats are

distinguished and can be contextualized with short comments.

This study is based on the approach of “Social Messaging” and sees Micro-Sharing as a sub-

category.

5. Basic principles and characteristics of implementation concepts

The solution approach underlying this study thus focuses on the distribution of “micro-

information”. As underlying principles for the system landscape, the limitation of the

amount of information to potentially be published, reduced simplicity of application and the

pull-principle in communication is basically valid.

• Limitation of the information to be published: The appropriate solutions are

characterized by a limitation of the amount of information which can be

published by the user.

• Reduced simplicity of application: The appropriate solution is characterized by a

reduction of application and interaction logic to a very low level. This makes

appliance very simple and results in low entry barriers for usage.

• Pull-principle in communication: The exchange of messages follows the Publish-

Subscribe-model, in which the person publishing a message directs the message

not at specific recipients but always at the public or a defined group of users. It is

a user decision to read the published information from other people or groups.

The main goal of the approach is to keep the cost of exchange amongst employees as low as

possible. The social software expert and founder of SocialText, Ross Mayfield, has

commented the following: “The more effortlessly employees can communicate, collaborate

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and share new insights with one another, the faster an organization can respond to changing

customer expectations and business conditions.”

Leisa Reichelt, another social software expert sees in this ability and simplicity of information

exchange an “ambient intimacy“: “Ambient intimacy is about being able to keep in touch

with people with a level of regularity and intimacy that you wouldn’t usually have access to,

because time and space conspire to make it impossible.”

Andrew McAfee mentioned “The Strength of Weak Ties”, a model developed by Mark

Granovetter, as one of the basic principles of Enterprise 2,0. “Granovetter emphasized that if

we want novelty and innovation, our weak ties, or our more distant colleagues and

acquaintances, are actually the place to go first, because they have by definition less overlap

with our knowledge base and our social network. Weak ties are hugely valuable. “

Through social messaging solutions, information about the work, processes, and knowledge

of these “weak ties” is made more transparent. That forms the basis for potential benefits of

this system landscape.

In summary, the following system aspects for the solution concept can be determined as:

� Low acceptance threshold: The systems are easy to use. Whether free-text or

structured links.

� Get to the point: The number of characters available for communication in the

systems is limited, which presents the communicator with the challenge of

specifying the subject of communication.

� Speed: The communication or the conversations basically occur in real-time.

Messages are published immediately and can be read by subscribers or found via

the search function.

� Reflexivity: Community understanding grows as direct feedback from all network

ties (tight or weak) helps the community understand itself in the through this

feedback and other community activities.

� Democratization of the state of information: Everybody can use the system to

discuss what's going on and to share opinions about the company and the

company's business processes. The quasi public information establishes

transparency about activities in the company.

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� Heart rate monitor: The dissemination of news depends on the subjective

importance felt by the recipient and represents a collective filter for the

assessment of its relevance. Furthermore, how employees navigate in the system

shows what concerns them.

� Identification and nearness: Incidentally conveyed descriptions of the condition

of the employee as well as incidents in the company support the identification

with and the proximity to persons and establishments of the company.

6. Potential benefits of Social Messaging

The benefit of Social Messaging lies in the creation of transparency regarding the activities in

the company and, results from the fact that the effects of realizing value-added potential

and process improvement. As with other communication tools a direct connection between

input and output does not exist. This makes the determination and measurement of

potential benefits difficult.

The following section will draw upon the stage model by Zerfass / Rolke, which originated in

the field of communication controlling research, as reference model for the explanation of

benefit potentials of social messaging.

• Input: Time involved for activities (writing and reading) of social messaging

• Output: Number of generated short messages (status updates, comments on links,

etc)

• Outgrowth: Amount of generated knowledge and context of and about business

activities

• Outcome: Added value through new information and knowledge resulting from that

• Outflow: Real time and cost which are saved through output and process

improvement or transformation. Increased involvement and commitment of

employees through greater identification and employee satisfaction

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7. Comparison of potentials and challenges

The system design of “Social Messaging” promotes a number of factors which have valuable

benefit for companies. On the other hand the company has to face challenges.

In the table below, the most important potential benefits and challenges of the solution are

compared:

Benefits Challenges

� Transparency: The flow of

information is promoted across

hierarchies and departments.

� Satisfaction: The employee

receives acknowledgement

through feedback and reflection

of his work. This promotes

general satisfaction.

� Identification and proximity:

Transparency increases

identification with the company

and proximity to the people of

the institution.

� Cost-saving: Process and project

costs for information and expert

research.

� Value added: Solve business

problems through "weak ties"

(people who are loosely linked or

may not know each other

directly).

� Pick up knowledge and

information “in passing“.

� Concern about the

democratization of information:

In many companies, information

and knowledge are still the basis

of power and the conception of

leadership.

� Quick ROI of user-level: Users

must see value quickly or they

will reject the tool.

� Necessity for business relevance:

Making individual value creation

transparent for record to the

requirements of the

management.

� Security aspect: privacy policy,

protection of business secrets.

� Managing complexity: Quick

personal benefit through filter

and sub-groups.

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8. Significance of the solution category for the Enterprise 2.0 initiative

The system design of “Social Messaging” is based in many ways on the vision of the

“transparent” and “flexible” business concept, which is an objective of many Enterprise 2.0

initiatives. Making the information flow transparent, which emerges from this business

concept, forms an important pillar for the Enterprise 2.0 initiative in two ways:

• Social Messaging as centerpiece of the E2.0 initiative: The solution category must be

understood as the central element of the Enterprise 2.0 initiative because the type of

use represents the communication paradigm of Enterprise 2.0. The per se public pull-

communication forms the central element for information exchange, transfer of

knowledge, collaboration and problem solving in Enterprise 2.0. The solution

category functions as infrastructure for the flow of information and communication

of the Enterprise 2.0 initiative and thus represents the centerpiece of the E2.0

concept.

• Social Messaging as clock for the E2.0 initiative: “Making transparent” the “flow of

information” of activities in the company is again the central supporting feature of

social messaging systems for the introduction of E2.0 initiatives in companies. They

make visible all changes, improvements and also negative views and opinions – when

the E2.0 concept is introduced.

Against this background, Social Messaging is understood as an “Enterprise 2.0 killer-

application“ – meaning an application which aims at creating a major breakthrough for

Enterprise 2.0.

9. Architecture of the solution category

As explained in the beginning, so far one straightforward definition and specification of the

solution concept “Social Messaging” does not exist. Therefore, all experts and suppliers

active in this field have their own interpretation of the “ideal” system design behind the

approach. However, central to all others is the information technology which supports

communication and the interaction of a closed user group.

From a user perspective, the solutions are marked by the option of simple publication and

circulation of status updates. When reduced to a classical input-output-paradigm, the

solution category can be described as the writing (input) and the circulation and interaction

(output) of status updates. The processing in such a model covers the user- and system-

based qualification, contextualization and search assistance. Complementary administrative

functions round off the functional reference model of this solution category, which

constitutes the basis of this study.

Furthermore, for a complete system analyses, the fundamental system concept and the

technical architecture of the solution must be examined.

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10. Functional Reference Model

The functional system analysis of this study is based on the heavily reduced concept of HIPO

(Hierarchical Input-Processing-Output)-method. This method tries to model an information

system as a bundle of hierarchically structured functional units. On the top layer, the

solution is seen as an input-processing-output-system.

According to this method, the solutions to “Social Messaging” represent the technological

image of the distribution and using processes of status updates. The “social” component

determines that the publication and distribution of the status updates reaches all users and

happens in real-time – without the requirement of a synchronous presence of sender and

receiver, which makes it different to instant messaging. Additional interaction and context

functions furthermore present an extension to the unidirectional standard information

processing paradigm.

The abstracted functional concept of the solution category contains three functional units:

� Functional unit “creation of status update”: This subsumes all functionalities

concerning entry and publication of status updates. Users as well as systems can

generate status updates. Status updates generated by the system contain

information about certain activities of a user in the social messaging solution or

connected tertiary systems.

� Functional unit “processing of status update“: This contains all functionalities of

user- and system-supported qualification and contextualization of the

information. In a broader sense, interaction and search functions are also

included.

� Functional unit “distribution of the status update“: This combines all

functionalities concerning publication and circulation of status updates.

The following diagram emblematizes the core concept of the underlying reference model:

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In addition to the procedural functional units, the system analysis also contains

administrative functions which can be analyzed into the following four units:

� User management

(includes the regulation of rights and roles)

� Content management:

(includes the definition and administration of content-types and attributes)

� Application management:

(it includes mainly speech, backup, security and export functions)

� Analysis & Controlling

The following scenario illustrates the ideal reference model for the technical architecture of

the solution category:

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11. Analyses of the technical system concept

Differentiation and allocation of the solution offered

According to their functionality and the conditions, such as installation and possible

integration into complex systems, social messaging solutions address different approaches.

Simple standard systems are represented, as well as complex framework solutions.

Furthermore, free open source offers stand against very powerful systems for large

companies.

For the differentiation of social messaging solutions, there exist two dimensions that can be

combined in an overview.

Differentiation according to functional focus

An initial allocation is obtained by evaluating the supported functionality.

The simplest solutions offer a micro-messaging functionality which is based on the Twitter

functionality. This is no evaluation, as they are very good solutions depending on intended

use, and other systems might be completely oversized.

Micro-sharing represents the next stage of the systems. Here, the focus lies more on the

exchange of information. Extensive discussions (threads) are made possible in a clear

presentation.

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Differentiation according to technological concept

The second allocation results from the installation of the systems. Largely standardized out-

of-the-box solutions are contrasted with such systems, which work within a framework.

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12. System matrix for Social Messaging solutions

After the merging of the two allocations the following image results:

� Pure Play Micro Blogging In general, these systems are offered as SaaS, enabling

the exchange of messages a la Twitter.

� Micro Messaging Plattform These solutions enable social messaging in the strict

sense. The solutions are either available as SaaS or can be easily installed on the

server. In general, the focus lies also on the exchange of short messages.

However, additional sources of information can be included.

� Micro Sharing Plattform Basis of these solutions is also the exchange of short

messages and the easy use as a SaaS solution or installation on a server. The focus

lies on sharing information that is available in a variety of sources and formats. In

addition to the use of information from other databases, at least the basic

functions to manage documents are available.

� Communication-based Coordination tools This category includes systems that

tend to be used rather for project coordination than for communication purposes

or sales planning. There are systems, for example, which incorporate messages

automatically, or support decision-making processes.

� Enterprise-built Message-Server This type is not a finished concept, but a

technological framework and is, for example, only targeted at micro messaging.

You may have to supplement it with further developments to use advanced

functions.

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� Integrated Micro-Sharing Usually, in this larger system solution, social messaging

is provided simply as a kind of system module.

� Micro-Sharing Frameworks This solution is an easy to set up social messaging

platform, to which more items, such as Question / answer modules, can be

added.

13. Market Analysis for Social Messaging Solutions

The architecture and the often historically determined priorities give first indications as to

the classification of the systems. Systems which are delivered within a whole system family

are clearly different from pure social messaging solutions.

This does not necessarily mean that products which belong to a complete suite represent

the best solution for all applications. Often, the possibility to communicate through short

messages is sufficient. This of course applies particularly to small businesses; however, this

approach can be very promising even with large applications. That depends entirely on the

existing tool environment.

The position in the image does not make a general statement about the quality of the

products.

For the final selection of a system, the individual needs and local circumstances must be

considered in all cases. An in-depth analysis and definition of the requirements is therefore

needed. A good catalog of requirements facilitates the final selection by means of the tables

concerning the individual system functions.

Based on the system matrix outlined in Chapter 14, the following classification can be

established.

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Pure Play Micro Blogging None of the systems has been assigned to this category.

Micro Messaging Platform

The solutions in this category have a clear focus on the exchange of short messages, and

thus serve mainly the purpose of information exchange, whereas even these solutions

already offer diverse possibilities for the integration of external information.

Heart of Co. A micro blogging platform that is geared to the needs of internal

communication and which is offered as SaaS and server

installation. As a special feature of the solution, it is offered pre-

installed on a server ready for direct use in agencies. In addition

to simple document management the solution provides various

interfaces for connecting external and internal content.

OpenMicroBlogger A micro blogging platform using Wordpress themes. The solution

is offered as SaaS and server installation. The key interfaces are

available to connect external content, such as Twitter and

Facebook.

Socialwok A micro blogging platform with integration into the workflow of

Google Apps. The solution is only available as SaaS. The use via an

iPhone or Android app is also possible.

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Yammer Micro blogging platform with the functionality adopted from

Twitter. The solution is only available as SaaS.

YoolinkPro Enterprise micro blogging platform with a stream of activity as

core element. The solution is only available as SaaS.

Micro Sharing Platform

These solutions focus next to the sending of short messages more on the sharing of

information.

BlueKiwi Micro-sharing platform with the possibility to process a variety of

data formats. The solution offers various interfaces for

connecting external and internal contents. It is offered as SaaS

solution as well as an installation on the home server.

Communote Micro sharing platform with easy integration of enterprise

portals, such as SharePoint or Atlassian Confluence. The system is

offered as a SaaS and server installation.

Flowr Micro sharing platform with further developed network

functionality. A variety of data formats can be processed.

Integration of external content via various interfaces is easily

possible. The solution is offered as SaaS and server installation.

Communication-based Coordination tools

SAP StreamWork SAP's solution meets the requirements for micro blogging and

sharing in the same manner as the previous products. However, a

stronger focus on supporting business processes can be

observed.

Decision processes are the basis of this platform. The micro-

blogging functions largely support this function. The solution

processes most of the data formats and provides interfaces to

integrate data from various sources. The system is offered as

SaaS only.

ESME (Enterprise-built Message-Server)

Social Messaging Infrastructure with Open Server architecture

that can be easily integrated in other solutions. The offer includes

SaaS and server installation.

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Integrated Micro-Sharing

The offers of this group offer a wide range of Enterprise 2.0 modules. Social Messaging is

therefore only part of the possibilities and can easily be integrated in other applications,

such as Wikis.

Blogtronix Enterprise 2.0 Suite with social messaging solution. The Activity

Stream forms the core of the system. Various interfaces allow the

connection of internal and external systems. The solution is

offered only as SaaS and as a server installation.

Jive Enterprise 2.0 suite of integrated social messaging solution and

extensive feature set. Various interfaces allow the connection of

internal and external systems. The solution is offered as SaaS and

server installation.

Just Connect Enterprise 2.0 Suite with social messaging solution. The Activity

Stream forms the core of the system. Comprehensive features

enable the processing of diverse data formats and connection of

the current systems. The solution is offered only as a server

installation.

SocialText Enterprise 2.0 Suite with the possibility to use social messaging as

a standalone solution. Various interfaces allow the connection of

internal and external systems. The solution is offered as SaaS.

Telligent Enterprise 2.0 Suite with social messaging solution. The Activity

Stream forms the core of the system. Various interfaces allow the

connection of internal and external systems. The solution is only

offered as server installation.

Micro-Sharing Frameworks

Both solutions examined offer social messaging based on the activity stream. Extensions

allow adjustments to the needs of different companies. The integration of external

information into the Activity Stream is an essential feature of these systems.

Lotus Connections Social messaging platform with micro-sharing functionality which

is embedded in an Activity-stream. Comprehensive features

enable the processing of diverse data formats. The solution is

offered only as a server installation.

Socialcast Social messaging platform that combines the functionality of the

Activity-stream with the possibilities of micro-sharing.

Comprehensive features enable the processing of diverse data

formats. Various interfaces allow the connection of internal and

external systems. The solution is offered as SaaS and server

installation.

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14. Vendor list

Company name Product name Homepage

Blogtronix LLC Blogtronix Enterprise 4.0 http://www.blogtronix.com

blueKiwi Software

SA

blueKiwi Summer 2010 release

1.37105 http://www.blueKiwi-software.com

Communardo

Software GmbH

Communote V 1.1.4.

http://www.communote.com

ESME ESME (Enterprise Social

Messaging Experiment) v. 1.0 http://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/ESME/index

Flowr Flowr http://theflowr.com

Kuhn, Kammann

& Kuhn AG

Heart of Co. (1.0) http://www.heartofco.org

Jive Software Jive 4.5 http://www.jivesoftware.com

Just Software AG Just Connect 5.0 http://www.justsoftwareag.com

International

Business

Machines Corp.

(IBM)

Lotus Connections 2.5 http://www.ibm.com

Megapump, Inc OpenMicroBlogger 0.3 http://megapump.com

SAP AG SAP StreamWork http://www.sap.com

Socialcast Socialcast® http://www.socialcast.com

SocialText Socialtext 4.3 (we update every

two weeks)

http://www.socialtext.com

Voiceroute Pte

Ltd

Socialwok

http://socialwok.com

Telligent Telligent Evolution v5.6

(platform)

Telligent Community v5.6

(external facing application)

Telligent Enterprise v2.6

(internal facing application)

Telligent Analytics v3.6

(reporting)

http://www.telligent.com

Yammer Yammer http://www.yammer.com

Yoolink YoolinkPro http://www.yoolinkpro.com

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15. Delivery of the study

The first part of the study contains the

Introduction, analysis, evaluation and mapping of

the products. The comparison tables are part of it

105 pages

All vendor profiles 275 pages

16. Pricing

Management Summary: free of charge

Electronic version (pdf): 590 Euro

Printed version: 690 Euro

Electronic and printed version: 690 Euro

17. How to order

Please use the order form to order the study:

http://www.n-sight.de/en/orderform.html

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18. Authors

Joachim Lindner

Joachim Lindner is responsible for research

projects of N:Sight Research GmbH. Prior to

joining N:Sight, Joachim Lindner worked for

ABB Germany in the field of marketing and

online communications. He was also a

member of global teams implementing Web

2.0 and Enterprise 2.0 in the company.

Björn Negelmann

Björn Negelmann, managing director of N:

Sight Media Research & conference manager

of Kongress Media, has worked for over 10

years with disruptive web technologies and

their impact on business processes.

About N:Sight Research GmbH

N:Sight Research GmbH is an independent research and consulting firm based in Munich. N:Sight

publishes studies and professional information on the topics internet, intranet, knowledge

management, Enterprise 2.0 and social web. N:Sight analyzes best practice scenarios and tools with

empirical and qualitative methods.

In addition to studies, N:Sight also provides seminars and strategic business consulting on the basis of

the research results. N: Sight Research GmbH is a subsidiary of the Kongress Media GmbH.

About AIIM

For over 60 years, AIIM has been the leading non-profit organization focused on helping users to

understand the challenges associated with managing documents, content, records, and business

processes. AIIM was founded in 1943 as the National Microfilm Association and later became the

Association for Information and Image Management. Today, AIIM is international in scope,

independent, and implementation-focused. As the industry's intermediary, AIIM represents the

entire industry - including users, suppliers, and the channel. For more information on AIIM:

www.aiim.org.

Join the conversation at AIIM's online community. Find expert bloggers, discussions, wikis, and

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This community is SIMPLE to join. EASY to use; and provides a UNIQUE learning environment by

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As a member of this online community, you will:

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In fact, you will connect and be plugged into the industry like never before. The connections you

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