Something New at the Office

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.