Collaboration: The Next Wave

by Doug Henschen

From the telegraph and the telephone to the Internet and e-mail, the technology of communication has also been the technology of collaboration. After all, what is collaboration but communication used toward a common goal?

The term "collaboration" is everywhere these days, applied whenever silicon, copper and electricity connect people doing business. Many content-focused technologies, such as document management, workflow and intranets, are described as collaborative technologies. More often than not, the content managed or retrieved through these systems is the subject (or "context") of collaboration, but the systems don't actually support the act of collaboration.

Therefore, we chose collaboration as the subject of our next Webinar. In "Collaboration: The Next Wave of Content," we'll focus on collaborative technology, and we'll look beyond the basic tools that most companies already have in place, such as e-mail, shared calendars and discussion threads.

Our tour guide to collaboration will be Matt Cain, senior VP, Web & Collaboration Strategies at Stamford, CT-based Meta Group. Matt initiated Meta's e-mail and collaboration coverage in 1990, and he coined the term "contextual collaboration." Matt's most recent writings include "The Future of Instant Messaging," "The Future of Teamware," and "Contextual Collaboration: The Road Ahead."

Instant messaging, Web conferencing and teamware are the core technologies we'll be focusing on, and we'll talk to three users who are using these tools. Akiba Stern is a partner at Shaw Pittman, an international law firm that's using instant messaging and Web conferencing for multiparty negotiations, with application sharing sessions typically focused on hashing out contracts, agreements and settlements.

Training and internal communications have also benefited from collaboration technology, and Jeff Rossi, director of sales development at TD Waterhouse, will discuss e-learning and town hall meetings at this financial services firm.

Manufacturers are also using collaboration technology, and we'll talk to Bob Dutton, CIO of General Dynamics C4 Systems, a unit of one of America's largest defense contractors. C4 Systems is implementing teamware technology to cut costs and time out of collaborative design efforts.

Our Webinar will be broadcast on Thursday, June 20, at 1:30 p.m. EST/10:30 PST. You must preregister by clicking on the "Collaboration: The Next Wave of Content" link on our home page at www.transformmag.com. It's a free and simple process, and there's even a chance to win a $100 gift certificate. Registration helps us ensure that there will be adequate streaming resources, and we'll also be able to send you an e-mail reminder to join the Webinar.

Please visit www.technetcast.com/transformmag to register, and join us on June 20 for what promises to be an enlightening 30-minute program.

Doug Henschen, Editor-in-Chief

Send questions or comments to dhenschen@cmp.com