IBM Widgets for LinkedIn, TripIt Simplify Professional Networking and On-Line Travel Planning

ARMONK, N.Y.- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced the first two in a new initiative to develop software widgets for a wide variety of business needs. New Lotus Notes software widgets for travel management and professional social networking are now available. TripIt and LinkedIn applications can each now be opened via single sign-on right from the familiar Lotus Notes desktop screen, enabling and simplifying the management of travel and business networking for millions of workers worldwide.


“Notes is the first open collaboration software to be able to provide users with desktop direct access by both LinkedIn and TripIt. This demonstrates the versatility of Lotus Notes in Web collaboration,” said Kevin Cavanaugh, vice president, Messaging and Collaboration, IBM Software. “Whatever Lotus customers need, there’s a widget for that.”

With today’s myriad travel Web sites, even the most experienced business traveler may find managing trip details a daunting task. TripIt organizes trip details into one master online itinerary, even if arrangements are booked at multiple travel sites. It automatically includes maps, directions and weather into a master itinerary and gives travelers the option to add restaurants, theater tickets and other activities for the trip.

Travelers can safely access travel plans online, share them, check-in for flights or print an itinerary. The service makes it easy for travelers to share and collaborate on travel plans and to see when their plans overlap so they can meet-up with people from their professional network.

“I travel all the time and have found TripIt to be a fantastic tool for staying organized with hotel and airline bookings. With Lotus Notes 8.5 the new iCalendar feature made it very simple to add TripIt calendar entries. All I do when I make a booking is email TripIt and everything is added automatically to my Notes calendar. I can’t wait to get my hands on the new TripIt widget to see how much better it can get,” said Adam Brown, Director at ISW, an IBM business partner based in Australia.

“TripIt is used by business travelers around the world to manage travel information and increase productivity while on the road,” said Scott Hintz, vice president, Business Development, and co-founder, TripIt. “Bringing TripIt directly to the Lotus Notes desktop now makes it easier than ever for millions of business travelers to keep their travel in synch with the rest of their professional lives.”

LinkedIn is an online network of more than 43 million business professionals in more than 200 countries. With the new LinkedIn micromashup software capability for Lotus Notes, users can access the world’s most popular professional network directly from their desktops. Features include a stream of LinkedIn network updates, people search with one-click, and access to view LinkedIn Professional profiles right within Notes.

“LinkedIn was created so that professionals could more effectively stay in touch with their trusted contacts, and learn more about new people they work with,” said Ellen Levy, vice president, Corporate Development and Strategy, LinkedIn. “Now that LinkedIn is an integral part of the professional’s daily work flow in Lotus Notes, we anticipate that our users will get even more value from frequent, useful interactions with their professional networks.”

Lotus Notes and Domino are supported by over 10,000 IBM Business Partners worldwide, with thousands of offerings built on the platform. Lotus Notes 8.5 transforms the traditional “in-box” into an integrated workspace with Web 2.0 customization, assembling email, calendar, instant messaging, office productivity tools and custom applications in a single-screen view. Lotus Notes Traveler software extends Lotus Notes mail to a variety of mobile devices.

To obtain the LinkedIn plug-in for Lotus Notes, visit http://www.linkedin.com/lotus. For the TripIt widget for Lotus Notes, visit http://www.tripit.com/lotus.