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Groupware Battle Shaping Up
Now that Microsoft has again launched a major push to kill Lotus Notes, it's time to take stock of where the players are. My money is on Microsoft, because I think they have a secret weapon.
This time around, Microsoft has purchased start-up company Groove. If you haven't had a chance to see groove yet, you should stop by. I actually looked at it twice before I decided to purchase. I think Groove is one of those products you need a bit of a "jump start" to really understand how to use it.
Since Microsoft purchased Groove this year (and plans to integrate it into Office), look out for a whole new way to collaborate. While I'm not sure how much MS will hack the basic idea, Groove is an http-based collaborative work environment. We use it extensively at Bedford Tecnology Group -- no matter where you are, it's usually possible to get a browser to the internet. And with Groove, that means your entire office can follow you around. Pretty neat, huh?
IBM Notes, however, is an old groupware standby. Maybe it's just me, but I don't see a lot of new Notes shops and applications -- it's mostly a legacy application. Once again, somebody else did it first, Microsoft did not innovate, and instead wrote a check. But writing a check is the next best thing to innovating, no?
Now if only Microsoft could deal more effectively with systems integration, which I imagine has exponentially exceeded their ability to cope. Can't have everything, though, can we?
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