Collaborative Technologies: This refers to software applications
and hardware tools whose primary function is to support collaborative
activities. These applications and tools may have additional uses
but their primary benefit should be derived from supporting or
enabling collaboration.
Real-time Collaboration: Collaboration between two or
more people which involves participants simultaneously. Unlike
most current groupware applications (Lotus Notes, for example)
that support only sequential, independent actions that are later
available to others, real-time collaboration allows multiple people
to simultaneously exchange information, interact, and otherwise
gain a sense of immediate presence.
The focus of this paper is real-time collaborative technologies.
Examples include:
Although these tools do not perfectly replicate the whole spectrum
of interaction, they meet the basic characteristics of a convivial
shared space:
The NCSA
Habanero site contains graphics and short descriptions of current
collaborative technologies. We survey the current technological trends
in collaborative software and multimedia hardware in the section on technology trends.
Several developments have led to this increased need for collaboration,
including:
Emergence of global organizations: As organization continue
to extend their reach beyond domestic boundaries, they are faced
with new challenges for managing their employees and operations.
Geographical separation has made it more difficult for divisions
of an organization to remain in touch with each other, even when
close relationships are required to support business functions
For example, communication and cooperation between marketing and
R&D is often critical to the development of new products that
anticipate developing user needs. Such communication, inherently
difficult as it is, can become a nearly insurmountable challenge
when the two groups are in different time zones. In addition,
global organizations face unique local issues that they must contend
with. Often, these issues require guidance from local experts
who may be on the other side of the world from the product developers.
Organizational shift to horizontal integration: As companies
shift from the vertically integrated organizational model
to the horizontally integrated one, they find themselves
in a stark new world of competition perhaps more intense then,
and definitely very different from, the one they grew used to.
This new environment places an even greater premium on short production
cycle times and is quick to punish companies whose products are
late to market or not up to user expectations. Organizations must
efficiently use resources and make quick decisions consistent
with their capabilities to deliver. In addition, this new market
requires firms work together more closely then ever to deliver
innovative, yet compatible products. These challenges require
increased coordination and improved communication.
Renewed focus on quality and customer satisfaction: Gone
are the days when employees worked in virtual silos and interacted
only with members of their department. Many organizations are
now structured along business processes, with most activities
performed by cross-functional teams. These organizations spend
a great deal of time building consensus within the teams, even
regarding decisions traditionally made unilaterally by a department.
The new approach evolved as a way to increase customer satisfaction
and improve the overall quality of goods and services, and it
significantly changed the nature of relationships within an organization.
Changing workforce demographics: Particularly in the United
States, the workforce today is quite different from the profile
of just a decade ago. Many of the trends that were emerging in
the mid-1980s now significantly impact the way corporate America
goes about its business. First, in an increasing number of families
both partners hold full-time jobs, leaving no one behind to let
in the cable repair man or take care of a sick child. In addition,
more and more people are stressing the importance of a balanced
life-style, one that allows time for family, friends, and personal
endeavors. Of course the ever-increasing average commute time
is another element of the workforce profile that is negatively
impacting productivity. These changing demographics have forced
organizations to look at new paradigms such as telecommuting,
flexible hours, and other modified work schedules to meet these
changing needs. However, these changes have also forced organizations
to rethink how they share information and collaborate with a workforce
that is no longer working the same schedule.
Many organizations recognize that increased and improved collaboration
play a major role in meeting these challenges. They see in collaboration
a way to increase the productivity of the workforce by leveraging
knowledge across the entire organization while streamlining work
and information flows. Getting things right requires participation
by all the key players; it requires collaboration.
While traditional collaborative mechanisms (such as meetings,
conference calls, joint application designs) are increasingly
employed to meet these challenges, more needs to be done. One
reason traditional collaborative methods are insufficient is the
geographical dispersion of the collaborators. Another reason is
the growing need to share knowledge in a timely manner. The dawning
of the information age as embodied by the Internet opened an entire
new realm of possibilities for information sharing and collaboration.
From this seed developed the roots of the collaborative technology
industry.
Yet, as noted in a previous section, this industry in still in
its relative infancy. One reason may be that, although companies
realize the importance of collaboration, they do not yet fully
understand the role technology can play in supporting collaborative
strategies. In addition, there remain several underlying impediments
to the development of industrial strength collaborative technologies.
One such limitation is the current network, which is highly asymmetric.
Fully collaborative applications would benefit greatly from a
more symmetric network that allows for equivalent flow of information
in all directions. Another significant factor in the current adoption
rate of collaborative technologies is the high start-up costs
and switching costs due to path dependent effects. Of course,
human resistance to change and the complex organizational changes
required to support yet another new paradigm are also significant
impediments to the development of these technologies
With this background, we set off to further investigate the key
impediments and incentives for adopting collaborative technologies
in each of the five areas. The following sections present an overview
of the key factors and issues surrounding collaborative technologies.
Factors Impacting Collaborative Technologies
Current Environment for Collaborative Technologies
As mentioned in the introduction, the current environment demands
that organizations collaborate effectively both internally (between
and within groups) and externally (with suppliers, partners, customers)
in order to optimize use of resources and improve performance.
While this is particularly true in the commercial world, collaboration
is important to the success of all organizations, including educational,
research, government, and non-profit institutions.