Groupware software – brief overview and specific examples

   What is groupware software ? It is a program designed for multi-user concurrent working. It promotes electronic communications between users, so groupware can use their individual groupware packages to enter the shared system and exchange their information in common virtual environment. Usually collaborative software works through client-server technology, because this method enables real-time collaboration between users. There a lot of areas where collaborative packages can be used with a great success, for example significant number of products is intended for sharing certain kinds of information among multiple persons co-working as a team (the definition from Wikipedia page calls this type of software the “workgroup support systems”). 

If speaking about groupware comparison, it should be performed between products of the same purpose, because there are very different programs and systems, including packages designed for email management, web conferencing, social communicating, document sharing, calendaring, task management etc. 

First of all, before to make software comparison, you should set a number of requirements that you seek for, because groupware can be also grouped according to technologies and requirements, for example by OS, like Windows or Linux software , and by the of distribution and development, like commercial and open source groupware software, as well as by the type of installation and the way of accessing, like desktop-based (installable) or software (also called web-based) . While some products were initially designed for multi-user concurrent work, others, like MS Outlook, can be upgraded to work in the collaborative mode. In order to establish MS Outlook software regime of working you need to buy and configure additional software – MS Exchange. 

One of the best examples of groupware software is VIP Task Manager that improves communications in the project team in terms of work management. This client-server software is intended for tasks, time and personnel management, for working process scheduling and controlling, and for simple document sharing. This easy-to-use software was initially designed for a workgroup use, so no additional payments and means are required to establish multi-person regime of collaboration – it will take just several minutes to deploy this software over your corporate LAN.