When the connection to external data
sources and complexity of the workspace
environment (e.g., size of the workspace,
dispersion of clients) overload the decentralized workgroup environment, workspaces can be managed on the Groove
server. This architecture lets you maintain
data versions and update postings centrally, but lets users store their working
copies locally. That means when users
travel or work offsite, they don't have to be
connected to Groove Server 2007 to work
on documents, post discussion questions
and comments, or add items to the workspace. The next time that users connect to Groove Server 2007, the updates on
their computers are automatically synchronized to Groove Server 2007, and all other
users' workspaces are updated on their
local computers.
On the back end, there are several
components that need to be configured
properly to keep server-managed workspaces up-to-date while not bringing
down the network (just kidding, but there
is overhead to plan for). The Manager (for
defining workspaces), Relay (for controlling site-type traffic), and Data Bridge (for
connecting to Microsoft SQL Server or
other databases) server components are
all part of the infrastructure that supports
workspaces. Collaboration tools have
huge front-end productivity gains, so the
resources that businesses invest usually have a significant ROI. The resources
needed for Groove Server 2007 will also
be compensated, to some degree, by
users not having to email large attachments back and forth multiple times. For
example, a Microsoft Office PowerPoint
presentation can be edited locally and
synchronized by Groove Server 2007, so
that there aren't multiple versions of the
presentation in multiple users' mailboxes
on the mail server.
Groove was a successful application,
even before Microsoft acquired Groove
Networks in April 2005. There are clearly
scenarios in which decentralized collaboration plays an important role. Certainly, some
collaboration scenarios outside your network might be better supported by Groove
Server 2007 than by a SharePoint Server
2007 extranet. Groove Server 2007's ability to make certain that SharePoint Server
2007 data is available offline might also be
attractive to some users. At the lower levels
of implementation, you can deploy Groove
Server 2007 for users similarly to how you
deploy Office and other user-productivity
applications today.
When the workgroup model becomes
overwhelmed or insufficient, you should
develop a Groove Server 2007 topology.
This article isn't the place for a detailed
discussion, but a Groove 2007 implementation is similar to any other messaging implementation with load, relay, and
storage considerations that need to be
planned for. Microsoft Exchange Server
2007 provides even more integration possibilities. Developers will be glad to learn
that the Groove 2007 workspace integrates with InfoPath forms and SharePoint
Server 2007 document libraries to keep
data consistent across high-level business
processes. Although InfoPath forms and
SharePoint Server 2007 document libraries are for users, administrators can use
them for planning and defining those business processes.
Most businesses likely won't consider
using Groove Server 2007 until after
SharePoint Server 2007 has been rolled
out. Even then, businesses will be wise to
seek guidance from Microsoft or Groovesavvy IT consultants to properly implement
Groove Server 2007 so that it meets their
business needs.
Project Server 2007
Project Server 2007 extends the power of previous versions of Project Server and embraces more of the toolset that's
used across the enterprise on the ground
level, particularly Excel and Microsoft
Office Outlook. For example, you can use
Outlook to maintain tasks (such as progress, completion, and change schedule)
and handle reports in Excel or Microsoft
Office Visio that are dynamically tied back
to the data on the Project Server. If a
browser is more to users' liking, Microsoft
Office Project Web Access and Project
Workspace let users collaborate over the
Web. It's always positive when users can
facilitate high-level processes without a
learning curve.
At higher levels of project management,
the Cube Building Service enables you to
use portfolio analyzer cubes for sophisticated analysis and reporting. Resource
plans can show high-level resource allocation for categories of proposed projects
without digging into unnecessary details.
Timesheets now support fiscal periods
and cost codes, and other financial fields
that let you report hours separately from the progress made on tasks. You can also
define deliverables, and those deliverables
can cross projects. These additional functions are likely to increase Project Server
2007's attractiveness as a solution within
part of the original collaboration solutions.
Project Server 2007 offers welcome
improvements for developers. Now fully
implemented on the Microsoft .NET
Framework, it's not as difficult to reach
Project Server 2007 from the outside, as
the API now exposes all the functionality and data that client applications might
need. Project Server 2007 also supports
the Windows Workflow Foundation (WF),
which allows for the integration of business processes defined and implemented
within the context of other Office servers.
From the performance side, the scheduling engine has been moved to the server,
meaning that custom front ends no longer
require the full executable (winproj.exe) on
each machine.
With Project Server 2007, users will be
able to manage their projects more easily
within the context of familiar tools, project
managers will get more features and better reporting capabilities, and developers
will get easier access to data that used to
be much harder to reach. If your organization already uses Microsoft Project, you
can certainly expect Project Server 2007
to be part of your collaboration solutions,
especially as demand for good reporting
increases. (Note: Not every user needs to be a project manager to use Project
Server 2007.)
SharePoint Server 2007
SharePoint Server 2007 is the "Mother
Hen" that brings people and data together
within defined contexts. What started
several years ago as a document library
and fledging communication tool has
developed into a robust information portal.
Although chances are that you've worked
with SharePoint at some point, there are many new and improved features.
SharePoint Server 2007 serves the following six business scenarios:
Portal. SharePoint Server 2007 supports designing, deploying, and managing enterprise intranet portals, corporate
Internet presence Web sites, and divisional
portal sites. The portal components also
make it easy to connect to people who
have the right skills, knowledge, and project experience.
Users get a personalized experience
because of user profiles, audience targeting, presence awareness, and audience-appropriate views (such as My Manager
and My Assistant). An LDAP-pluggable
provider (in addition to the Active
Directory—AD—provider) lets you securely
access categorical information based on
the various directory services that might
be involved.
