Context and Definitions

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:

• Video-conferencing
• Desk-top video
• Shared white boards
• Audio-conferencing

Although these tools do not perfectly replicate the whole spectrum of interaction, they meet the basic characteristics of a convivial shared space:

• real-time access by all participants
• continuous, but not necessarily continual communication
• remote participation
• free manipulation by all participants

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.