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COLLABORATION
Collaboration is getting a lot of attention in recent years, whether it is
internal to a company or between companies. Unfortunately there isn't a
good definition of what collaboration is and what it encompasses.
Without attempting to claim a formal definition, we'll give you a flavor
for what it is and some examples of its scope.
Types of Collaboration
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Messaging
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E-mail (Store and Forward of text, images, files, etc)
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Instant Messaging (dynamic delivery of text between 2 enabled users)
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Chatrooms (Interactive discussions by typing text concurrent with
others)
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Newsgroups (Offline discussion about a subject; post a message and
subsequent replies)
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Shared Folders and Files
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FTP server (A directory of files authorized users to read/write to)
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Public Folders (A shared directory that users can map a drive to, access from
the web, or from group ware program like Outlook or Lotus Notes)
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Shared Contact Management databases (ex. client and/or vendor lists,
customized contact information specific to your needs)
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Shared Calendars (ex. online dynamic meeting scheduling)
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Shared Tasks (ex. sending requests to employees of work to be done)
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Shared Project Management Databases (ex. Microsoft Project)
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Shared Custom Forms that are formalized templates for data stored in
some form of a database.
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Workflow (ex. a document that follows a sign-off or approval list -
product formulation change, operating procedures, etc)
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Multi-user Relational database
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Web sites connected to applications (application servers) and databases
Scope
Collaboration can be productive on many levels; between:
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Two users (ex. partners)
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A workgroup (ex. a department)
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Company-wide (ex. multiple departments to manage an enterprise-wide
project)
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Business-To-Business (ex. buyer/seller; companion companies)
Experience
We have experience with many of Microsoft's tools that can be enabled for
collaboration within a company and/or over the Internet:
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Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, Outlook, Powerpoint, Access
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Exchange Server (Mail Server)
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Microsoft Project (Project Management)
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SQL Server (Database Server)
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Microsoft IIS (Web Server)
These tools can be useful by themselves as well 'in concert' with each other.
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