Planning

Groupware: More than Just an Application Planning involves designing the system architecture, putting the system intheright environment, setting aside enough resources, and planning for growth. You might also consider hiring an experienced professional as a consultant. Do: Put a lot of time and effort into designing the system architecture. Make sure that management knows that groupware is more than an application. It is a complex system that requires proper planning and resources. Don't: Don't force a groupware system into an

environment that will not allow the system to do its job. If you want users to really use the system, then give it hearty, dedicated resources instead of pulling an old server out of the closet, or making do with a server that is already taxed. If you want users to share data, not just two-line messages, then make sure the network infrastructure has enough bandwidth to support the communication your organization wishes to benefit from. Do: Start out with dedicated servers that have plenty of disk space and plenty of memory (specifics are recommended for individual systems from their manufacturers). Some groupware systems separate administrative processes from messaging processes to some extent. In the spirit of dedicating resources, it's a good idea to isolate the core administrative processes on a separate server, away from the day-to-day message traffic. For example, Novell GroupWise uses a "Domain", which is a database that houses administrative information about the rest of the system. Putting this database and its MTA (Message Transfer Agent) on a dedicated server will reduce the chances of corruption and will give you gates, or shut off valves if you will, when you need to isolate a problem during troubleshooting. Do: Plan for growth. Your users will use this system more than you expect. They will quickly learn that they can't live without every feature and function, so plan for it. Purchase more disk space than you think you need. Buy a more sizable server than you think you need. Also, build in fail-safes. Novell GroupWise allows to you to configure multiple agents to service a single post office. Configure an extra agent to be activated in times of emergency or unusually high traffic, and have the resources to support it. Do: Consider hiring a consultant during the planning phase to help with the design of the system. Do yourself (and your company) a favor and contract an experienced professional to review your current environment, make recommendations for changes, produce an architectural overview of an ideal system (with guidelines to get your system there), and to suggest an implementation schedule. Realistically, most IS departments have the ability to perform the install and the roll-out to the end-users. If you are wondering where to spend your money, put it into the design rather than hired hands to push buttons during the implementation. I can't stress this enough: a poorly designed system will have bottlenecks, will not run efficiently and will not give you the return on your investment that a properly designed groupware system can deliver. I can't stress this enough: a poorly designed system will have bottlenecks, will not run efficiently and will not give you the return on your investment that a properly designed groupware system can deliver.

Things to Think About Here are some tips to help you choose the right groupware system for your organization: 1. Directory Services - Make sure the groupware system interfaces with a directory service of some kind, preferably the directory your company already has or is planning to have. Examples are Novell's NDS, LDAP, and Microsoft's ActiveDirectory. As the business grows and disperses, the company will rely more and more on the directory service and the groupware system. 2. Research Options - Some companies might require a document management system and some groupware applications have them built in. Some companies might need tight integration with other applications the business relies on. Some companies might need a good "remote" or "disconnected" solution so sales people or distributed office locations can use the groupware system while on the road or in outlying offices. Whether an outside consultant is employed or not, you still need to do an in-depth needs assessment. 3. Security - Some businesses require tighter security in their groupware package, such as banks and legal firms. Some packages provide native encryption so that hackers (or disgruntled employees) cannot take a system backup home and browse through the groupware system. Also, your business might require digital signatures or message encryption. 4. Ease of Administration - This can also be referred to as Total Cost of Ownership. A groupware package that is inexpensive to purchase might require 10 times the amount of time to administer than a seemingly more expensive groupware package. In the end it winds up costing you much more than the difference in the cost of the software. Talk to other companies that have groupware systems installed and find out how much time they spend managing their groupware systems, and talk to consultants -- both of these people have actual experience. Never believe a salesman -- they will only tell you what you want to hear.