Who is using Watson Workspace?

Watson Workspace is being used by thousands of IBMers and customers around the world. It’s open to all IBMers, and anyone you invite, whether they work for IBM or not!

Can I use this with external customers?

Yes! You can send a direct message to anyone and add anyone to a space. If they’re using Workspace, you should be able to find them by just typing their name. If not, just add them by their email address. If they’re not already using Workspace, they’ll receive an email with instructions on how to sign up and join the conversation with you.

How do I invite people to Watson Workspace?

All IBMers have access to Watson Workspace, so they don’t need an invitation. Just send them a message or add them to a space! If they don’t show up in the typeahead, invite them by their email address and they’ll get an invitation with instructions on how to sign up.

I want to invite a lot of people to my space, can I do a mass invite?

Yes, you can. Spaces are only visible to the people you invite, however if you want to add a lot of people we have a good shortcut for you. Use our "Open Space" application to allow others to join by URL. Anyone who clicks on the URL will be automatically added to your space. Here's how:

1. 1. Make sure you are in the space that you want to "open"
2. 2. Add ww-open-space app to such space above via this share URL: https://ibm.biz/ww-open-space
3. 3. Publish out the join URL by using: https://ww-open-space.mybluemix.net/join/<spaceID>

How do I join spaces?

Right now, we don’t yet support public spaces but it’s currently in development (Yay! Coming soon!). Until then, all conversations are private to the people in a particular space.

Can I discuss IBM Confidential information in Workspace?

Yes, just be sure to append an IC to the end of any space name where you are sharing IBM Confidential information so others in the team are aware. Check out this article for more information.

Do you have any resources I can use to drive adoption of Watson Workspace with my team?

Yes, we sure do - this article has an sample email you can send to your team, some flyers, even an intro presentation you can use for onboarding your team.

Where can I provide feedback?

We love to get feedback and ideas! If you have a suggestion or a request, or if you want to report an issue, contact us from the Help Center or from settings in the browser or mobile apps. You can also submit ideas to our idea forum or ask a question in our general discussion forum.

Where do I go if I have a question?

First, check the Help Center. Use search to check both the articles and the forums. If you can’t find an answer there, contact us from the Help Center. There’s a direct link to the contact form in each of our apps too in the user settings.

When can we expect new updates in Watson Workspace?

The Watson Workspace team employs continuous delivery so we are releasing updates to the Workspace apps all the time - sometimes new releases several times a day. The best way to keep up with what we are working on and what to expect soon is to follow our idea forum. Also keep an eye on our our "What’s new" article which we update whenever there are significant updates.

How do I enable Zoom video conferencing?

Zoom video conferencing is available to everyone using Watson Workspace. Start a 1:1 video or audio call with screen sharing and whiteboarding capabilities right from any direct message. Right now, video conferencing from Spaces is only available in our paid Plus offering. If you are interested in piloting our Plus video conferencing capabilities, please contact us.

How is this different from Slack?

There are lots of similarities between Watson Workspace and Slack. Both tools recognized, as have many in the market, that conversations are key to how people work and collaborate. Conversations are the glue between the tools you are working in, the content you are sharing, and the decisions you are making. So yes, both Slack and Watson Workspace are persistent messaging platforms designed for teams, but we also think there are some key differences.

• Slack positions their product as "all your communication in one place". Watson Workspace aims to be so much more than just the place to communicate; our north star is to use Watson technology to enable work. As our product evolves, you’ll definitely see a focus on not only communication, but creating content, connecting people, and driving towards outcomes.
• With Watson Workspace, it’s really easy to collaborate within IBM as well as with your clients and partners outside of IBM. You don’t have to switch teams (and definitely not tools) to start a direct message or to invite an external user to a space - invite anyone you need to work with and you’ll always only have one list of all your spaces and DMs in Workspace regardless of what organization they are associated with.
• Cognitive is core to Watson Workspace. Cognitive is not just an app or a bot but Watson Workspace has been built on Watson cognitive technology and learning from day one. We’ve got moments and action fulfillment and plenty of more plans to keep leveraging cognitive to make it easier to get your work done, manage the noise, and help you focus on what matters.
• We know lots of people love Slack, and we aren’t trying to take them away from a tool that works for them, but even if some of your team is already using Slack, you can still give Watson Workspace a go. Add the Slack app to a space in Workspace, connect to a channel in Slack, and the conversation in Watson Workspace and the conversation in Slack become one. Messages sent in either place will show up in both apps.
• The most unique difference between Slack and Watson Workspace? You have the opportunity to influence the design and development of our product - just contact us.

Why are we building this when Slack already exists?

IBM has long been a leader in the collaboration business. We acknowledge, along with Slack (and many others in this space), that conversations are the future of collaboration and moreover, the foundation of how most work happens. Our customers, however, are not just looking for a persistent chat app, but instead for an IBM solution that plays well with other IBM offerings, applies the same diligence to enterprise readiness - including globalization, compliance and security - that the IBM brand promises and takes advantage of the breadth of IBM’s portfolio by incorporating cognitive technology, workflow capabilities, profiles, document creation and more. This is what we are building with Watson Workspace and the Watson Work Services platform.

Is this based on Sametime?

No, this is a brand new offering, built on entirely new technology. Download this plug-in for Sametime to let other people know to message you in Watson Workspace. You can also watch this instructional video for installing the plug-in.

How is this different from Sametime?

We’ve been working hard to take what you love about Sametime to the next level with Watson Workspace. Here are two prime examples:

• Sametime is great for synchronous conversations, but we know that conversations can be synchronous and asynchronous. In Watson Workspace, the conversations are persistent. You don’t have to start a new message every day with the same person or search through the history of your conversations day by day, and the best part, you can message someone even if they aren’t online.
• Sametime has desktop and native mobile apps same as Watson Workspace, but with Watson Workspace you can be logged into multiple devices at the same time.

Watson Workspace doesn’t do everything that Sametime does and it won’t; we are definitely being very selective about the features we develop, but we also don’t think you should have to use multiple tools for similar purposes, so our goal is to meet the bar that keeps rising for work collaboration.

Are there resources available for switching from other tools?

Download this plug-in for Sametime to let other people know to message you in Watson Workspace. You can also watch this instructional video for installing the plug-in.

Should I use Watson Workspace or IBM Connections?

Both! IBM Connections and Watson Workspace serve unique purposes.

Use IBM Connections to:

• Create communities for interest or broadcast or even large scale projects. Think "general awareness" to many.
• Manage all your personal files.
• Find expertise or view user profiles.
• Publish pages of content for others to access or contribute to.

Use Watson Workspace to:

• Create purposeful groups that need to work together on a regular basis.
• Upload and share files, links, and urls to your team.
• Keep up with real time activity from third party apps.
• Privately message another person.

Want to be able to upload and share your Connections files with your team in Workspace? No problem! The Connections Files integration brings your content and your conversations together so you can collaborate seamlessly and share Connections files in Watson Workspace.

Can I create my own apps for Workspace?

Yes! Anyone can create an app and add it to spaces they’re in or submit it for review so it’s available to all spaces. You can even use our cognitive APIs to extend other business tools. Visit our developer experience for Watson Work Services to learn more about what you can do with our APIs and start creating your own custom integrations.

Can I get someone to do a demo?

If you’re interested in scheduling a demo for you or your team, just contact us.

When does Watson Workspace GA (general availability)?

Watson Workspace is already available as a paid, enterprise offering. Explore our plans and features.