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Introduction
The hectic pace of the modern corporate environment has created a need for tools that allow workers to effectively communicate with each other even when they are on opposite sides of the globe. One solution to manage this problem has been the development of collaboration management software tools, or groupware. Groupware can be described as a class of software that facilitates the cooperation between groups or individuals in an organization in an effort to save time, organize activities, and manage tasks. Corporate environments typically use these tools to support the scheduling of meetings and resources, email, file distribution, contact lists, and calendars among any number of other tasks. The focus of this paper will be targeted at a groupware system called Groove Virtual Office. The discussion will spotlight the objective of the product, its usability and effectiveness, and a general assessment of its practicality.
Features of Groove Virtual Office
For the purpose of this paper, the following descriptions and remarks pertain to the trial version of the Groove Virtual Office File Sharing product which does not include all services and tools provided with the full versions of the products available for purchase. The Virtual
Office File Sharing product allows users to create an area where they can share files, chat, have discussions and invite other people to collaborate. It is designed “to bring the assets of the physical office – content, people, projects, processes –into the virtual world, making it easy and intuitive for team members to work together as if they were in the same room.” (Groove
Networks website) The primary utilities in the Virtual Office product, which will be discussed here, are the launchbar, workspaces, alerts, and file sharing.
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Launchbar : Allows the user to view workspaces and contacts either by alphabetical order, folder, group, or active status (See Figure 1). Users can see what workspaces have people working in them if those workspaces are shared with the particular user. This is a
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Figure 1 Launch Bar GUI
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Workspace : The workspace is where all of the collaboration happens. It is where all of the pertinent information is collected and shared. Setting up a workspace is basically a three-click process. The user is presented with a dialog box labeled “Create New
Workspace” (See figure 2) they can then name the space, declare the type, and later invite
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Figure 2 New Workspace GUI
Figure 3. File view
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Alerts : The alerts that are available in the Groove Virtual Office notify the user of a changed status in a workspace or contact. The user customizes these alerts so they are only notified when their defined conditions occur (See Figure 4). For instance, if a user
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Figure 4 Alert settings GUI
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File Sharing : This function is the cornerstone of the Groove Virtual Office product. The process is similar to peer-to-peer networking. Through the Groove Virtual Office, the user has the option of sharing files with any user on the Groove network. That is, when users access a folder on their computer and click the “Folder Sync” button on the tool bar, all of the capabilities offered in Groove are applied to that folder and its subsequent files (See Figure 5). The system asks the user to declare the contacts with whom they want to share the information and those users receive an invitation to join the workspace.
If the invited user accepts, the folders and files are synchronized onto their desktop. It
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Office creates a copy of the synchronized files on the invitee’s desktop. When changes are made to a file, users synchronize back to the workspace and not directly to any other desktop .
Figure 5 Folder Sync GUI
Observations
The objective of groupware is to provide system or method that allows for collaboration between people in the development or management of some end goal. Groove Virtual Office upholds this objective. By utilizing the concept of workspaces, Virtual Office shows itself to be a capable tool in helping users save time and energy while providing an efficient way to get work done even when collaborators are not in the same physical locations.
Loading the system was no problem; in fact, the process is automatic since the trial version can be downloaded as an executable file that configures everything. Once installed,
Virtual Office is quite intuitive, easy to navigate, and uncomplicated. The dialog boxes are uncluttered and users can organize files and folders as they choose. Although the system is
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The overall look of the tool is very much like the standard Windows scheme. This is most likely the reason that the navigation is so intuitive but it also makes it bland and unoriginal.
Perhaps the fact that Microsoft Corporation is a part investor and client of the company, helps explain the absolute compatibility with Windows platforms, GUI design and virtual snub of a non-Windows version of Virtual Office. According to the site’s FAQs, the “majority of [their] customer and prospect base is Windows based” (Groove Virtual Office FAQs) so they apparently have little incentive for developing a non-Windows product. Groove Networks mentions that the production of a different version would be dependent on the demand from their target market but since the “prospect base” is Windows users, this would negate the notion. The decision to develop multiple platform tools is certainly a market-centric issue for many software providers and Groove Networks’ position on the matter is not uncommon. Ultimately, if Groove
Networks truly wants to have the global presence it is aiming for they will have to make customers feel as though they are actively trying to provide a service rather than just a suite of products for the Microsoft machine.
Consumer Opinion
Groove Networks has an impressive list of customers which includes: Dell Computer,
Microsoft Corp., Department of Homeland Security, Food for Hungry, University of Texas,
MIT, and the YMCA among many, many others. Obviously, the customer stories posted to the site are offering praises so one can assume that the customers listed were satisfied with the product and its performance. ZDNet editors gave Virtual Office an 8.0 out of 10 rating which is
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Conclusion
Regardless of the non-Windows issues, the product lives up to its claim. Virtual Office is a capable tool for collaboration despite, or perhaps because of, the outward simplicity. My opinion of the system is admittedly limited since the whole purpose of the product is to include multiple participants and I was a group of one. Had I been able to obtain a wireless laptop to test the full accessibility of the system I think I may have been able to get a more robust comprehension of what this tool can really provide for users. That said, it seems as though all of these types of software are basically offering methods of time management. By that I mean time management in terms of projects and deliverables not personal time management, necessarily.
Before tools like this hit the mainstream, project timelines were at the mercy of email and logistics if the participants were highly mobile. These sorts of tools have helped to balance time involved in aligning the logistics of participants. Remote users are now able to collaborate on tasks and documents with as much ease as if they were in the next cube and without worry of mangled email file attachments. Any organization could benefit from using this sort of tool if time management and resource coordination are difficult to get a handle on, or if they simply need a partner for a wicked game of tic-tac-toe (See Figure 6).
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Figure 6 Wicked Game of Tic-Tac-Toe
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Dreier, T. (2005). Groove virtual office 3.0 file sharing edition. Retrieved Feb. 27, 2005, from
Reviews-ZDNet Web site: http://reviewszdnet.com.com/Groove_Virtual_Office_3_0_File_Sharing_Edition/4505-3522_16-
31292248-2.html?tag=top .
Groove Networks, (n.d.). Groove virtual office faq. Retrieved Feb. 21, 2005, from Groove
Networks Web site: http://www.groove.net/index.cfm?pagename=VO_FAQ .
Groove Networks, (n.d.). Groove virtual office customers. Retrieved Feb. 21, 2005, from Groove
Networks Web site: http://www.groove.net/index.cfm?pagename=CustomerList .
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