29
Fri, Nov
0 New Articles

How Will Microsoft Use Groove Networks?

Commentary
Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times

A couple of weeks ago, on March 10, 2005, Microsoft announced that it would acquire Beverly, Massachusetts, software company Groove Networks and would hire Groove's founder, Ray Ozzie, as Microsoft's Chief Technology Officer (CTO). What's significant in this news event is that we are witnessing Microsoft's awakening to its need to move beyond straight-line, product-based solutions to fulfill corporations' requirements for collaborative services that reach beyond ad hoc document and file sharing.

What Is Groove Networks?

Groove Networks' primary product is Groove Virtual Office. Groove Virtual Office allows users to readily share and integrate Microsoft Office products across the Internet. This includes coordinating Microsoft Outlook PIMs, Word and Excel documents, and other files in a peer-to-peer network, much the way that Napster-like software shares music, video, and other files among peer-to-peer connected users across the Internet.

In the current environment, Groove Networks provides the servers to establish and maintain the presence awareness of other users. However, the communication and sharing of information between users is strictly peer-to-peer, so theoretically the maximum storage space allowed by the network is limited only by the total available space of all the disk drives of connected users. This enables users to build networks of shared files and applications that could potentially rival the size of centralized systems of corporate mainframes.

Groove Networks also sells server software and interface tools so that software developers can enable their software applications to hook into the Groove Virtual Office.

History Repeats

So why is Microsoft's purchase of Groove Networks so significant? Consider what Lotus Notes did for the Lotus organization and how it transformed IBM's vision of the desktop and collaborative computing.

Lotus Notes, you may remember, was originally a product developed by Iris Software, which was under contract to Lotus specifically to build the Notes product. (See "The Once and Future Domino.") Ozzie was the founder of Iris Software and one of the original developers of the Computer-Based Education Research Laboratory (CERL) PLATO Group Notes back in 1973. Ozzie later became the driving technical and creative force within Iris Software that transformed Lotus Notes from a pre-Internet email application into a workflow/knowledge management collaborative suite.

Of course, Lotus Notes got a big jumpstart into corporations because many of those organizations back in the early 1990s were still using the Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet application. Lotus introduced those organizations to the idea of collaboration, and once corporations saw the opportunities that Lotus Notes provided for developing quick workflow applications, they latched onto it.

Lotus subsequently bought out Ozzie's Iris Software, and then IBM bought Lotus. After several years, Ozzie left the team and started Groove Networks. In the meantime, he had become an industry icon as Lotus Notes/Domino spread to over six million users.

In a way, history is repeating itself: Ozzie has found himself once again selling his small, creative software team to yet another mega-corporation.

Microsoft and Ozzie

Yet, as recently as January of this year, Ozzie appeared at Lotusphere in Orlando as IBM's guest keynote speaker, touting the amazing vibrancy of the Notes/Domino community. Listening to Ozzie talk, one had the impression that he was truly overwhelmed by the changes that the Notes/Domino product line was undergoing. What started out as a simple collaborative application has transformed IBM from a "heavy metal" computing giant into an agile supplier of collaboration suites.

Moreover, Ozzie must have been bemused by the sudden reinvestment IBM is making in the Lotus product line. IBM is now taking key elements of Lotus Notes/Domino and transforming them into a new open standards product brand that it calls IBM Workplace. IBM Workplace is now the strategic mechanism by which IBM will deliver the user interface of its On Demand infrastructure to the customer desktop.

Looking out at the assembled audience of thousands of users and developers at Lotusphere, Ozzie seemed vaguely hesitant in his address. Perhaps he was wistfully thinking back to the days when he was still driving the Lotus Notes/Domino vision. Or perhaps he was taking one last look at the user base that he and his team had created. For certainly negotiations were well underway between Groove Networks and Microsoft. And certainly, Ozzie knew that his move to CTO of Microsoft would be seen as a kind of Lotus Notes/Domino betrayal by loyal fans.

But Microsoft and Ozzie already had a long relationship, and indeed, Microsoft had provided some of the venture capital to help Ozzie start Groove Networks. So, if there is blame for Ozzie's defection from the Lotus camp, it must truly rest with IBM, which seemed more interested in using Ozzie as a figurehead than allowing him any real input into the product development of IBM Workplace.

Getting into Microsoft's Groove

Certainly, what's on everybody's mind, is the question of what Ozzie can do as a CTO within Microsoft. Will he be able to spur the organization to build the peer-to-peer collaborative environment that can rival the success of the IBM Lotus brand?

More significantly, can Ozzie help Microsoft understand that it must look beyond simple quantitative product excellence? Can he help Microsoft reach out to corporate IT to provide real-world problem-solving tools, much the way Iris Software built an application development platform out of an email tool?

That's the philosophy that Iris Software had when it was developing Lotus Notes as a collaborative suite: Work with the users until they get what they need! That's what Microsoft failed to do with Microsoft Exchange Server, still treating user requests with disdain and distaste. Ozzie's team within Lotus established www.notes.net, which was an interactive forum to solicit customer response. (IBM subsequently used that forum as a model for interacting with customers and developers.)

If anyone can help Microsoft transform, Ozzie is probably the man. And if he succeeds, suddenly IBM may actually have some serious competition in the collaborative On Demand market space.

Thomas M. Stockwell is Editor in Chief of MC Press Online, LP.

Thomas Stockwell

Thomas M. Stockwell is an independent IT analyst and writer. He is the former Editor in Chief of MC Press Online and Midrange Computing magazine and has over 20 years of experience as a programmer, systems engineer, IT director, industry analyst, author, speaker, consultant, and editor.  

 

Tom works from his home in the Napa Valley in California. He can be reached at ITincendiary.com.

 

 

BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS

LATEST COMMENTS

Support MC Press Online

$

Book Reviews

Resource Center

  • SB Profound WC 5536 Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application. You can find Part 1 here. In Part 2 of our free Node.js Webinar Series, Brian May teaches you the different tooling options available for writing code, debugging, and using Git for version control. Brian will briefly discuss the different tools available, and demonstrate his preferred setup for Node development on IBM i or any platform. Attend this webinar to learn:

  • SB Profound WP 5539More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation. Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects. The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the company are not aligned with the current IT environment.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT Generic IBM announced the E1080 servers using the latest Power10 processor in September 2021. The most powerful processor from IBM to date, Power10 is designed to handle the demands of doing business in today’s high-tech atmosphere, including running cloud applications, supporting big data, and managing AI workloads. But what does Power10 mean for your data center? In this recorded webinar, IBMers Dan Sundt and Dylan Boday join IBM Power Champion Tom Huntington for a discussion on why Power10 technology is the right strategic investment if you run IBM i, AIX, or Linux. In this action-packed hour, Tom will share trends from the IBM i and AIX user communities while Dan and Dylan dive into the tech specs for key hardware, including:

  • Magic MarkTRY the one package that solves all your document design and printing challenges on all your platforms. Produce bar code labels, electronic forms, ad hoc reports, and RFID tags – without programming! MarkMagic is the only document design and print solution that combines report writing, WYSIWYG label and forms design, and conditional printing in one integrated product. Make sure your data survives when catastrophe hits. Request your trial now!  Request Now.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericForms of ransomware has been around for over 30 years, and with more and more organizations suffering attacks each year, it continues to endure. What has made ransomware such a durable threat and what is the best way to combat it? In order to prevent ransomware, organizations must first understand how it works.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericIT security is a top priority for businesses around the world, but most IBM i pros don’t know where to begin—and most cybersecurity experts don’t know IBM i. In this session, Robin Tatam explores the business impact of lax IBM i security, the top vulnerabilities putting IBM i at risk, and the steps you can take to protect your organization. If you’re looking to avoid unexpected downtime or corrupted data, you don’t want to miss this session.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericCan you trust all of your users all of the time? A typical end user receives 16 malicious emails each month, but only 17 percent of these phishing campaigns are reported to IT. Once an attack is underway, most organizations won’t discover the breach until six months later. A staggering amount of damage can occur in that time. Despite these risks, 93 percent of organizations are leaving their IBM i systems vulnerable to cybercrime. In this on-demand webinar, IBM i security experts Robin Tatam and Sandi Moore will reveal:

  • FORTRA Disaster protection is vital to every business. Yet, it often consists of patched together procedures that are prone to error. From automatic backups to data encryption to media management, Robot automates the routine (yet often complex) tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAManaging messages on your IBM i can be more than a full-time job if you have to do it manually. Messages need a response and resources must be monitored—often over multiple systems and across platforms. How can you be sure you won’t miss important system events? Automate your message center with the Robot Message Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAThe thought of printing, distributing, and storing iSeries reports manually may reduce you to tears. Paper and labor costs associated with report generation can spiral out of control. Mountains of paper threaten to swamp your files. Robot automates report bursting, distribution, bundling, and archiving, and offers secure, selective online report viewing. Manage your reports with the Robot Report Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAFor over 30 years, Robot has been a leader in systems management for IBM i. With batch job creation and scheduling at its core, the Robot Job Scheduling Solution reduces the opportunity for human error and helps you maintain service levels, automating even the biggest, most complex runbooks. Manage your job schedule with the Robot Job Scheduling Solution. Key features include:

  • LANSA Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.

  • LANSAWhen it comes to creating your business applications, there are hundreds of coding platforms and programming languages to choose from. These options range from very complex traditional programming languages to Low-Code platforms where sometimes no traditional coding experience is needed. Download our whitepaper, The Power of Writing Code in a Low-Code Solution, and:

  • LANSASupply Chain is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable. From raw materials for manufacturing to food supply chains, the journey from source to production to delivery to consumers is marred with inefficiencies, manual processes, shortages, recalls, counterfeits, and scandals. In this webinar, we discuss how:

  • The MC Resource Centers bring you the widest selection of white papers, trial software, and on-demand webcasts for you to choose from. >> Review the list of White Papers, Trial Software or On-Demand Webcast at the MC Press Resource Center. >> Add the items to yru Cart and complet he checkout process and submit

  • Profound Logic Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application.

  • SB Profound WC 5536Join us for this hour-long webcast that will explore:

  • Fortra IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn: