Setup is straightforward and moderately complex. I would advise to get some IBM consulting (we talk about days not months).

The initial setup of the product is not easy. IBM portals are generally complicated, but for those who learn how to go through the setup phase of IBM products, it becomes easy for them. Since I have experience for a year on IBM portal, I find it easy to manage HCL Connections. If I onboard a new user to an IBM platform, I have to give them tools and a session on how to use, what to use, and what is better to use. In short, you need to have knowledge and experience to manage the setup phase, making the process not so user-friendly.

The solution is deployed on the cloud.

Setup is complex. It's loosely documented. We've actually had to bring in IBM resources every time, because the wiki is not all-inclusive on information. That definitely makes it more complex.

It's also not a seamless application. It's dozens of applications rolled into one, and each one is configured differently. That makes it more complex than it has to be.

Setup is very easy. Take out a subscription, click the link on the activation email and you are more or less good to go.

Since we were already on-premises Domino customers, the setup was quite straightforward.

I wasn’t involved in the initial setup.

Initial setup was straightforward.

I was involved in the setup process. It was probably moderately complex because of the number of servers that needed to be set up in the test and production environments. It eventually ended up being about 16 servers between the test and production environments; it was complex to keep all of them in sync.

The setup was more complex, as it was not an initial setup but rather an upgrade, which required migration from MSSQL to DB2.

Initial setup was almost straightforward; handled directly from IBM.

Initial installation and setup of the on-premises version of IBM Connections requires specific technical skills. Once the product is installed and configured it is easy to use and users have many options to easily control their user experience.

The IBM Connections Cloud offering provides a quick and easy way to get up and running with Enterprise Social Networking without the need for technical skills and expertise.

You need technical knowledge for the setup, but if you have the right expertise, it is OK.

Like any major software implementation, the initial project required planning, resource allocation, vendor management, and communications.

The setup was more complex than straightforward.

Initial setup was complex. We suffered some setbacks on the migration from the on-prem solution to the cloud. We are currently in a hybrid solution and the migration didn't work exactly how it was supposed to; so we had some challenges on migrating.

Initial setup was complex. It is a large-scale WebSphere deployment, and we have a twin data center, so you have to do a lot to deploy it at a very big enterprise.

The setup was extremely complex; a little less than what it may have been in the past. We've been a Connections user ever since version 3. We're on-premise and there's a lot of documentation that is wrong more often than not. Also, it's a very cumbersome process that often takes us about 4-6 months to get an upgrade completed, tested and ready to roll out. Thus, I feel that anything to reduce that would be appreciated. I know their new Pink strategy is supposed to help with that. I guess that we'll see when they start deploying things under that strategy.

I was involved in the setup. It is complex. The way IBM sets up its product, you can never find one thing in one place. Everything that you need is not found in one single location, so now you have to start at one place, then say, "Oh, you need to go to another location to find another content," then you come back and you start all over again.

Some of the recommendations are good, but unless they collaborate well together, - as these are all products placed together into one single solution, unless they bring that all together - it will remain complex. That's my thought.

No real issues encountered

The setup was rather simple. IT handled most of the implementation. The functional owner designed a series of standard communities for everyone to join.

I was not involved with the initial installation.

I was involved in the setup process to a certain degree. It was quite straightforward.

As the version of the product moves up, the complexity of setup also increases, with many other features getting added.

Initial setup has been simple.

It depends on the chosen architecture but initial setup can often be complex for a new user.

The initial setup was quite easy after we had defined the basic parameters the environment had to fulfill.

Initial setup is usually quite complex, but Connections is a set-and-forget environment.

The setup was not complex. We did have a bit of a challenge that was overcome in setting up SSO using our Microsoft Windows Active Directory.

Deployment can be a little complex, but a lot of this relates to the network, corporate LDAP, and security requirements. These can have an effect on the deployment of any application. IBM Connections is a mature product and the deployment path is well trodden and more importantly, it is well documented.

I was not involved in the initial setup.

Initial setup is complex because you have to deal with installation and integration of several systems: WebSphere Application Server, HTTP server, relational database, LDAP, Tivoli Directory Integrator for syncing user data between LDAP and Connections, IBM Cognos for BI, e-mail integration.

The setup is not complex. But if you add other products together, like Sametime, it will need more customization. If people use the SaaS version, called IBM Connections Cloud, then it is straightforward.

The initial setup is a tough journey. Once you get the hang of it, it is pretty doable. However, it takes some perseverance.

I was involved in the setup process to an extent. It was quite complex. There's a lot of components of the IBM Connections, i.e., the WebSphere Application Server, the DB2 database environment and other different items. It's not something that you can just click and get through the next stage.

Regarding initial setup, I distinguish between the on-premise and cloud editions:

- Cloud: Everything is active immediately and you can focus directly on the product and its features.
- On premise: There is a lot of work to install and configure the environment and it depends upon which installations you need. Initial setup might be simple or complex (for example in a cluster environment, high availability, large distribution and so on).

It is a complete setup, which requires a Linux and Windows background.

I did not perform the setup.

I was not involved in the initial setup.

I wasn't involved in the initial setup.

Setup is not overly difficult, but there are multiple components that need installing and integrating. Also, the documentation is not the best and the problem is not getting a base install running (that is not that hard); it is adjusting the system to the individual needs that each client has that can be challenging.

I wasn't actually involved in the initial setup.

It took us a lot time to upgrade to new versions. A whole new installation is needed to upgrade. That is a big problem.

It takes a lot of money and time, and that is a great loss. Companies are not willing to do upgrades frequently and are often a year or two behind the new versions. Because of this, they are missing a lot of new features.

Like each new product you need to know what you do with it and how to implement it. But it is not too complex.

The setup was complex. Integrations were an issue and several things went wrong such as identification, credentials etc. So we had to redo the whole thing because a lot of features were not working. So, instead of actually migrating we had to do a fresh installation.

The latest two versions are easily to install and are well documented.

The installation process is a bit complex. However, IBM's documentation is good and there are step-by-step installations guides that you can use.