Groupware and Virtual Office

The groupware concept is older than IM (at least in popularity). The groupware vision was that project results could be accelerated if a shared repositorysoftware-defined areas that hold all the electronic documents and project management datawas created that could be accessed and updated by all group members. Currently, groupware is an effective collaboration tool used for large project management by equally large companies. For smaller companies, ad-hoc usage of a shared file server often suffices. Small Web servers are also now used by more physically diverse groups.

Groupware, despite early hype, has remained somewhat hidden, deployed appropriately by those large multiregional companies but avoided by the rest of the world. A trained administrator is usually needed to set it up and typically, it requires an additional capital investment in server and storage hardware and administration. Groupware also focuses heavily on managing shared document repositories, making it vulnerable to competing products with a broader vision.

The vision of virtual office software is different. Groupware is currently being replaced by virtual officea groupware-like application with far more functionality. Virtual office software was born as a result of our increasing work mobility and an increasing need for groups to work on projects jointly while spanning locations. Customers and suppliers outside the company can also be included.

Groove, an example of virtual office software, combines the attributes of a shared file server, an IM function, and project-management tools (e.g., calendar and others). It can be deployed in minutes by users of the application themselves and does not require an investment in additional hardware. (It cleverly uses the participating member machines as sort of a distributed repository, thereby eliminating the need for a central machine.) The fact that virtual officeware (VOware) sets up instantly and securely without installing specialized hardware or calling in a technician means the utility of virtual officeware extends well beyond businesses. It is a practical tool to be used for school clubs, soccer team members, and even authors writing a book such as this one. (We use the Groove software.)

VOware adds a new level of "awareness" to communication. A bit like IM on steroids, VOware has the concept of a "workspace" (i.e., a project) with group members, digital assets such as files, and tools such as whiteboard sharing and calendars and so forth. However, it is the combination of these elements that allows for a much deeper insight into what your fellow peers are doing without actually being in their presence. In fact, you can be more aware of what they are doing at any given time than you could if you were all working in the same office complex. From a simple glance at the application, you know who is currently "in the workspace" as opposed to merely being online (and whether they are active and using their computer or have been idle or away for a bit). You know which documents they are currently updating. You know which documents have been updated recently by someone else and not yet read by you.

Chat sessions for the whole group are built in to the software, including voice. It is straightforward to hold an ad-hoc virtual meeting wherein you are broadcasting a portion of your computer's screen to all other participants. By using your voice and mouse, you can direct a presentation electronicallyknown as whiteboarding. Microsoft Word users can also allow multiple people to be simultaneously editing the same document in a coordinated fashion.

Think back to our outline of important communication attributes in Chapter 3, "Inescapable Data Fundamentals": asynchronicity, immediacy, awareness, utility, and happenstance. VOware goes a long way toward wrapping together our most valued communications requirements and is one important tool for enabling successful remote workers. In an Inescapable Data world, you have the freedom to work whenever and wherever you want, without compromising quality or efficiency. Nor should there be remorseful feelings for loss of physical proximity to your fellow workers. The tools, the data sources, and the network all say that you can successfully work this way.