The enterprise social network (ESN) space has just got a bit more crowded, with the launch of IdeaPlane and its IP Kinetic platform.
The company was launched by James Fabricant, who was part of the team that took former social network king MySpace to international markets.
IP Kinetic will initially be aimed at financial institutions and other heavily regulated industries, IdeaPlane said. It has been designed to connect workers in disparate offices and also enables external contributors, such as partners and clients, to join discussions.
The company says its product is secure and meets regulation needs, which is a vital component if it is to be successful in the highly regulated markets it is targeting.
IP Kinetic newsfeed
As with the other ESN platforms on the market such as Salesforce.com’s Chatter, tibbr, Jive and Yammer, IP Kinetic borrows heavily from the likes of Facebook and Twitter when it comes to the look and feel of it. As has been discussed before this is no bad thing, as it means users are more likely to be familiar with these systems and feel comfortable about using a similar platform in the office.
IP Kinetic includes features such as user profiles, status updates and activity newsfeeds, a search function that lets users search via topic, a "who to follow" style recommendation engine and a messaging system that can be used for one-to-one or group messages and can be sent publically or privately.
IP Kinetic group page
It also features a recruitment platform and job posting board, IdeaPlane said.
"Our mission is to transform our clients’ businesses by putting a social engine at the heart of the organisation," James Fabricant said. "We saw a gap in the market for a simpler more intuitive product with a clean UI and user experience, which addressed the challenges faced by highly regulated enterprises."
Fabricant added that improved collaboration and communication could help business to weather the current financial storm.
"IP Kinetic is a powerful enabler of change, that can help the most badly affected companies meet the extreme challenges of the current financial crisis. We are able to provide sustainable solutions for these difficult times through the application of social networking concepts and technologies to the heart of a business, ones that have a significant positive operational and financial impact."
