Credit: Benjamin Nelan via Pixabay
Sapho is including new software integrations in the latest version of its “micro-app” platform, adding IBM Connections to its list of supported collaboration tools. Other integrations in the 4.2 release include BlackBerry Dynamics and SAP SuccessFactors.
The California firm, founded in 2014, creates front-end applications that sit on top of enterprise software and systems of record. These single-purpose apps enable employees to interact with legacy corporate applications more easily, simplifying complex workflows and pushing data out to a range of channels such as email clients, mobile apps and collaboration platforms.
Saphos plans to formally unveil the changes Wednesday.
“Part of our value proposition is how do you get these event-driven workflows into any collaboration channel or end-point, and this release sees a big push for us into IBM Connections,” said Sapho CEO Fouad ElNaggar.
Sapho has already announced support for a number of IBM applications, including Domino, Verse and Watson Workspace. It also integrates with numerous collaboration platforms, including Slack, Sharepoint, Facebook Workplace, with integration for others such as HipChat, Cisco Spark and Google Hangouts Chat on the way.
ElNaggar cited a growing demand for application workflows that can be incorporated with collaboration platforms – whether they’re established enterprise social networks or a new breed of team messaging tools.
“We are seeing more and more deployments where people are saying, ‘We have to get more work into Sharepoint or IBM Connections or Watson Workspace or Facebook Workplace,’” he said.
“Having people log into 32 different solutions – which is the amount of systems of record that the average person touches each year in a large company – is just not feasible any more. It is not working. So this is a much better, easier solution to get work into the hands of the end user.”
Raúl Castañón-Martínez, senior analyst at 451 Research, agreed that collaboration tools are increasingly becoming the hub from which employees interact with business data.
“Sapho’s expertise is in enabling businesses to stream workflows and events in an easily digestible form to employees' mobile devices,” he said. “The IBM Connection integration makes sense because employees’ time and attention are shifting to collaboration tools.”
He said those tools could be a more effective channel for employees to interact with business data, compared to dedicated mobile apps. “Despite their proliferation, we have not seen evidence that mobile devices are having a significant impact in employee productivity in the last three to five years,” Castañón-Martínez said.
“Sapho’s formula entails pushing out content and data to users' devices; leveraging collaboration tools will make their value proposition even more compelling.”
The 4.2 release adds support for SAP’s SuccessFactors, allowing users to build micro apps based on data held in the cloud HR platform. Sapho’s own SuccessFactors micro app lets employees search through worker and team lists for quick access to colleagues’ contact information.
Other updates include integrations with survey and questionnaire software company SurveyMonkey, and extended support for Tableau to include Tableau visualizations. Sapho has also expanded security capabilities, adding BlackBerry Dynamics to its list of mobile app management options, which also includes AirWatch and MobileIron.
