The People Part of Enterprise Collaboration and Virtual Teams

• What is a Team? … Terri offers clear thought on what exactly a team is, and when the term is used incorrectly. “If you are told you are working in a team you have expectations. You expect people to work toward a common goal, you expect people to understand who knows what, and you expect people to help you tie your work into theirs and vice versa.” Various types of teams are discussed, and a helpful picture (see below) is given. Terri talks to when teams are not appropriate: (a) the work doesn’t require interdependent integration of work outputs, (b) there isn’t time for team decision-making, (c) there isn’t a common goal, and (d) the “team” is an amorphous list of changing people. “It is more important for sets of people to make proactive decisions about their work structure than it is to be in a team for the sake of being in teams. The right structure may be independent work that is put together at the end of the project – or it may be critical that a true team, with all its coordination costs, take on the task.” Technology and Organizations



• Patterns and Tips for Success with Wikis … Marisa outlines patterns and tips for success with wikis in the enterprise: (1) let end users create wikis and otherwise experiment with them, (2) encourage people who traditionally wouldn’t take part to do so, (3) capture meeting ideas and notes in a wiki (for visibility and persistence), and (4) invest time to make wikis work in your particular group. cmswire
• Unofficial Telecommuting = Bad … A telecommuting program needs to be official and supported by IT, otherwise sensitive data can be put at risk by employees working from home. “The study on Federal data security found that 13% of Federal employees with newly-issued laptops do not have encryption software installed. This is not an issue with telework (full/part-time out-of-office work) or with employee training, but rather with basic IT security practices being applied. The study found that telework employees had more security than their in-office colleagues, pointing to a potential flaw in security planning.” Laptop Security Blog
• Working at a Distance … Telecommuting offers good benefits to workers; see Kathy’s story. A July 2007 survey by Robert Half Technology found that companies are using telecommuting more than 5 years ago, and many plan to use it more in the years ahead. Key benefit for organizations: enhanced employee retention. The Tribune
• Two Places at Once … Robin needs to talk two people at different locations through the maintenance of their web site/blog, and was concerned that a purely telephone meeting would quickly degrade into “what menu was that again?” . “I needed to get a live virtual demonstration going, and fast. That way I could drive my PC as they looked on. Then I could relinquish control and watch them practice.” She chose Citrix GoToMeeting. Yahoo! Tech

The Technology Trends of Enterprise Collaboration and Virtual Teams

• Web 2.0 in the Enterprise … Irwin’s recommendations for Web 2.0 technologies in the enterprise: (1) to IT — get up to speed on the concepts, and do so fast; (2) to business people — look for specific processes that can benefit from Web 2.0 technologies; and (3) to everyone — look beyond the traditional list of vendors, and pay attention to the good work of startups. E-Commerce News
• AskMe Azo … AskMe Corporation announced Azo, an enterprise social networking and collaboration tool. New features: templates for publishing best practices, approval and routing tools, publishing to blogs by email, and more. Available immediately. NewsWireToday
• NextPage Award … NextPage announced that its Document Collaboration product received a “2007 KM World Trend-Setting Product” award. “NextPage Document Collaboration is a straightforward approach to tracking and managing the complete lifecycle of important documents, eliminating document chaos without forcing people to change their work habits.” NextPage
• Nixon Peabody LLP’s Expert Portal … Overview of the internal portal at Nixon Peabody LLP, a law firm. SharePoint is a core tool, and lawyers have a “MySite” with easy access to their matters, clients, hours, and more. “Their short term goal was to create a more user friendly environment that addresses the requirement for information sharing and collaboration. The longer term goal was to focus on improving internal processes, decision making and aggregation of data.” The firm also uses client-branded SharePoint sites. KM Space
• Google Marrying Search and Email … Google has filed a patent application for an easier way of distributing search results via email and other forms of communication. “Google isn’t merely describing a way to make copying and pasting search queries into e-mail more user friendly; it’s looking to link search and communication. Toward that end, it describes automated search technology that sounds a lot like the implicit query system that enterprise search vendor Autonomy uses to automatically generate search results.” InformationWeek
• Foleo on Track? … A Deutsche Bank analyst says that the Palm Foleo has been delayed due to software bugs in syncing with the Palm Treo. Palm begs to differ.
• Palm Treo 800 … Official photo of the forthcoming Palm Treo 800. “The device looks thinner than previous Treos with a redesigned keyboard (the keys are more flat and are closer together). It’s expected to sell at the $99 price point, though this price may be for just the Palm model. The unit will also include EVDO Rev-A.” pocketnow.com
• “I still like email” … Sarah announces the unfashionable: she still likes email, albeit with crushing volumes. She is experimenting with ways to reduce email: send less of it, fret less about how others perceive your email habits, and manage your Inbox with care (unsubscribe for lists whenever you can, turn off the new email notification, decide what to do with messages, and archive everything, among others). “Finally, I’ll throw in one trend I’m trying to start: send and receive long, chatty, personal catchup notes with no expectation of response at all. Just write or read them for the one-way pleasure, and if a response appears, consider it a wonderful bonus.” O’Reilly Radar
• Zimbra Shared Folders … Zimbra is adding Shared Mail Folders to its messaging and collaboration server. It’s almost done, and and is seeking user feedback on the approach. Zimbra Blog
• Plantronics Calisto Pro … Plantronics released the Calisto Pro, a Bluetooth/DECT 6.0 phone for consolidating phone traffic from a landline, mobile phone and Skype onto a single wireless handset/headset. “The Calisto Pro consists of 3 components. The charging base, which plugs into any standard phone jack and into a PC via USB for Skype/Yahoo Voice connections (Windows-only software drivers on included CD…sorry fellow Mac users). The handset, which is about as thick as a standard cordless phone but has the shape and feel of a cell phone. And the single button Bluetooth headset.” Available October in the US; at $280. Web Worker Daily
• Remember the Milk Pro … Remember the Milk introduced a for-fee Pro version of its online task manager. It adds priority email support, new features (that the community of Pro users can vote for / prioritize), and warm fuzzy feelings. Available immediately. Remember the Milk
• Web Conferencing = UC Feature … Mike argues that Web conferencing is becoming a “feature” of unified communications platforms and services, and suggests that building an inhouse system with open source software is a bad route for companies to follow. “So with all due respect to Steven – I would not recommend any of the options listed in his article as a starting point. WebEx, Microsoft, Adobe, Cisco, Citrix, Raindance (now part of Intercall), Genesys, Interwise, WebDialogs (now part of IBM), and Oracle are all credible platforms that offer multiple pricing models. And there are many more in the market (Glance Networks as an example for screen sharing).” Collaborative Thinking
• Google Apps = Career Limiting … Guy warns that a full-replacement of Microsoft Office on the desktop with Google Apps Premier Edition could be a “career-limiting move”, and urges caution. Ben thinks that Guy’s analysis is flawed: “Yikes. Here’s the thing: Burton Group’s analysis is based on the premise that companies are looking at Google Apps as a replacement for Office, Guy Creese, the report’s author, tells the Business Technology Blog. This all or nothing approach penalizes Google Apps for what it isn’t – a full fledged Microsoft alternative – without ever giving it credit for what it is.” WSJ Business Technology

Other Noteworthy Insights

• RIM for Wireless File Transfer … RIM may be working on adding wireless file transfer capabilities to its BlackBerry devices. “Wireless file transfer could transform the way we interact with our converged handhelds. It’s great to have all our electronic gizmos in one powerful device, but if we have to get within 30 feet of, or physically connect with, our computers to actually synchronize files. Microsoft had the right idea with their wireless ActiveSync options, but they just didn’t go far enough.” IntoMobile
• ZYB Update … ZYB updated its mobile data backup service, with new features for sharing mobile content with contacts, replicating contact information with friends, phone-based blogging, and more. Available immediately. ZYB
• Apple = Fewer Demands for SMBs … John thinks that Apple is rapidly becoming a better strategic vendor for SMB organizations rather than Microsoft and Windows. “That’s because Office has essentially become an infrastructure, rather than a simple productivity suite, he says. To really take advantage of Office, companies need additional servers and other gear.” ITBusinessEdge
• iPhone Hacked … The enforced link between the Apple iPhone and AT&T has been broken via a full SIM unlock. The group that did it haven’t disclosed when they’ll release the hack. Engadget