- Workspace
Workspaces are really collections of the different kinds of data elements. You might have a team workspace that includes a document library, contact list, calendar and a wiki. The workspace is typically the home page for a particular work team.
- Other Tools
Each collaboration platform has many components that make up their product offering. Some other tools typical include portals, web conferencing, file sharing, and project management applications.
Developer’s Perspective
There are essentially 2 perspectives for developers when it comes to collaboration software. First and foremost, developers need to be power users of collaboration technology. The need for collaboration among a team of software developers is a requirement for a project to be successful. Consider the best practices of project management which has collaboration written all over it. Secondly, collaboration tools provide a development platform to build custom software applications.
Project management starts with a requirements document that is modified at least a dozen times. Instead of attaching it to an email, it is much more efficient to post the document in an online document library where the team can work on it together. Every project has some kind of task list. It could be a full blown Gantt chart or a spreadsheet with start and finish dates. Either way, you need to make it available online for the team to view and update. A project needs a risk and issue log as well. All of the major collaboration suites have lists in one form or another. Lastly, every project needs some type of documentation and knowledge transfer. Discussion boards or wikis are perfect for this purpose. My team uses a wiki as the design document for any major software project. It works really great for us.
Most collaboration tools provide a development platform for custom application development. Since business users spend so much time on their corporate intranet, it serves as a perfect place to deliver new applications. If you are lucky enough to influence the business decision of choosing a collaboration platform, you should take the opportunity and consider your existing development and programming environment. For example, if your development team is made up of .Net developers, choosing SharePoint would be a sound business decision. In the latest offering, SharePoint 2010, you can leverage Microsoft Visual Studio .Net for your development needs. If your development team is a Java shop, IBM’s collaboration platform might make more sense. The point is, you need to understand the core technology to make a good business decision.
Top Collaboration Tools
The collaboration industry has matured and there are hundreds of collaboration tools available today. The top collaboration tools according to Gartner include:
- Microsoft SharePoint
- IBM Lotus Notes
- Google Apps Premier Edition
- Jive Software
- Open Text
More on the top 5 collaboration tools
Conclusion
The world of collaboration or social software includes literally hundreds of tools. Hopefully, your organization has chosen a package that fits their needs and is heavily adopted by staff members. If you are lucky enough to be in the market for collaboration software, consider your development skills in the equation. If your development team is comprised mostly of Java developers, it might not make sense to acquire SharePoint for your collaboration needs. Lotus Notes or Jive Software might be a better fit. On the other hand, if you have ASP.Net developers on staff, SharePoint might be a perfect fit.
I expect collaboration technology to continue moving toward social computing. In addition, there will be more business to business collaboration in the future so open systems will move into the cloud. Collaboration will continue to be the central application for your business so you really need an advanced understanding of the technology. Keep an eye on collaboration and social software as it will continue changing at a very rapid pace.
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