| In the past decades, as technology became more | | | | in the long run it facilitates the group work process |
| and more important and frequently used in the | | | | and project management. Executive and |
| commercial world, the shape of our daily business | | | | management staff should also provide employees |
| processes have drastically changed. Companies have | | | | with benefits or incentives to encourage groupware |
| expanded, opened offices in various locations around | | | | implementation and usage. Researches have |
| the world, outsourced their work to cheaper | | | | examined social factors in the adoption of groupware |
| countries and created remote or tele-working jobs. | | | | tools and came to the conclusion that mandated use |
| The colleague you work with or your project | | | | or executive measures seemed to be necessary. |
| manager might not be located in the cubicle next to | | | | These high-level mandates might be received with |
| you, but several thousand miles across the globe. | | | | mixed responses, but groupware will be used. Besides |
| This did not only change our business opportunities | | | | the management, it is up to the groupware designers |
| but also our work processes and how projects are | | | | who must find a way to make sure the application is |
| managed. Almost all projects require cooperation | | | | perceived as useful for individuals even outside the |
| between various departments or multiple persons. | | | | context of full group adoption. In many cases |
| Employees traveling around in different countries still | | | | collaboration is at odds with the company's corporate |
| need to access information and must be reachable | | | | culture so implementation will be disruptive and |
| by their colleagues. A variety of technology solutions | | | | therefore shifting the corporate culture from being |
| have been utilized for this purpose, such as remote | | | | competitive to being cooperative is no a small |
| connections to the intranet, storing data on external | | | | undertaking and will require changes at all levels of |
| drives or e-mailing corporate data back and forth | | | | the organization. |
| between employees in various locations. However, | | | | The second hurdle that needs to be considered when |
| this was not the most efficient way of data sharing | | | | planning to implement groupware is the potential lack |
| or managing projects. | | | | of interoperability/compatibility. Many groupware |
| In order to achieve an efficient cooperation, data | | | | applications fail, because anyone who wanted use the |
| sharing and communication between various project | | | | system efficiently needed to have the same |
| groups and locations had to be as productive as | | | | technology in place, otherwise it would not work. A |
| possible. For this purpose various groupware | | | | good example is instant messaging (IM). The user can |
| applications, also known as collaborative software | | | | only use IM, when the other party is using the same |
| have been developed. Groupware are powerful | | | | system such as AOL IM or Yahoo. These |
| software applications that support new ways of | | | | compatibility issues lead to general wariness among |
| work by providing efficient tools to solve | | | | customers, who in general wait to see what standard |
| "collaboration oriented" tasks. It allows a close and in | | | | emerges and which technology becomes the most |
| most cases, real-time cooperation and communication | | | | popular. |
| between several people on a single valuable business | | | | An alternative to groupware that allows similar |
| project from different locations. This technology also | | | | functionalities and features has been and still is the |
| allows members to work on different but correlated | | | | intranet. Intranet is a technology that has been used |
| tasks, share documents, information, and data by | | | | by corporations for a much longer time than |
| allowing them to essentially work on the same page | | | | groupware and is focused on a less formal |
| at the same time, without creating duplicate ideas | | | | communication and the distribution of relatively |
| and work. Many extra groupware features include | | | | unstructured information. Files and data uploaded to |
| group calendars that are used to schedule | | | | an intranet are not very well structured, the search |
| videoconferencing meetings, multi-player games using | | | | capabilities might be limited and tracking of document |
| live video and chat to communicate, newsgroup | | | | changes is not as efficient as groupware solutions. In |
| discussions as well as document change tracking to | | | | addition to that it is very hard to manage |
| allow for easy identification of who is working on the | | | | "simultaneous" work, as such extensive collaboration |
| latest revision of the project. | | | | features are not very supported. The loose structure |
| With these new technological advances and | | | | of the intranet allows to stimulate the creative use |
| Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) | | | | of corporate communications and the diffusion of |
| environments such as Lotus Notes and Microsoft | | | | knowledge. But at the same time they are not |
| Exchange it allows for tasks and business processes | | | | designed to facilitate the management of data, |
| to get done more efficiently and faster by using all | | | | documents, and document-centered transactions |
| required human resources, even when not in the | | | | within a distributed environment as groupware |
| same location. The advantages of a groupware | | | | solutions do. |
| system in comparison to a single user system are | | | | In addition to that, groupware applications obey strict |
| mainly when working in a project environment where | | | | rules and produce precise types of results. But an |
| communication is essential between collaborators. | | | | intranet application, must allow for "accidental |
| Groupware allows for and facilitates a much faster | | | | encounters and unpredictable outcomes". Accordingly, |
| and clearer communication where it would not | | | | the application development tools associated with |
| otherwise be possible and is built so that every single | | | | groupware are tightly integrated with the product |
| user can benefit from the advantages of groupware, | | | | itself and seem to be highly developed than those |
| by allowing for multiple perspectives, expertise and | | | | used with intranets. Intranet tools are typically |
| assistance with group solving. Project managers and | | | | generic, open, and unfocused. |
| executives can generate various reports for tracking | | | | There certainly are enough advantages as well as |
| and monitoring the status of business projects, | | | | disadvantages when implementing groupware |
| resources, and departments. At the same time | | | | solutions, but at the same time, our constant |
| business project managers can use the robust | | | | technology development is taking away the location |
| benefits of groupware to increase revenue, reduce | | | | barriers, which allow us to work in much larger |
| meeting times, boost customer satisfaction and | | | | dimensions and without boundaries. In order to |
| minimize operational costs. | | | | maintain the technological advantages we have and |
| Although there seem to be only benefits in | | | | use them efficiently for business opportunities, |
| groupware, the probably two biggest hurdles with | | | | corporations are forced to implement systems that |
| implementing it is the failure of achieving the critical | | | | allow an easy, fast and efficient way in getting the |
| mass of users and the lack interoperability or | | | | work done, staying in touch with employees, |
| compatibility of systems. When planning to implement | | | | business partners and contractors all over the world. |
| groupware successfully, it means achieving the critical | | | | Keep corporations more organized and unified in this |
| mass of users. Typically a groupware system will not | | | | global business environment is one of the biggest |
| suceed unless most or all of the target group is willing | | | | tasks managers have to face and only groupware |
| to use it and adopt the system. In contrast, a single | | | | systems provide a solution to this dilemma. A solution |
| user application can be sucesfull even if only a small | | | | that allows employees to collaborate on information, |
| portion of the target group adopts it (Brink, 1998). A | | | | ideas, and many other facets of their work and allow |
| difficult task which IT managers as well as executive | | | | them to be more effective, productive, and |
| staff need to face is convincing people to use | | | | organized. Much research has been done and shown |
| groupware. This can only be done by providing the | | | | that if efforts of each individual in an organization are |
| required training to make people comfortable using it. | | | | combined, the greater the achievements will be and |
| If people don't feel comfortable with the system or | | | | the more success the organization will have in the |
| do not see a benefit in it, they won't use it, even if | | | | long run. |