ECS

Enterprise collaboration systems (ECS)

• The use of groupware tools and the Internet, intranets, extranets, and other computer networks to support and enhance communication, coordination, collaboration, and resource sharing among teams and workgroups in an internetworked enterprise.

Electronic communications tools

• Software that helps you communicate and collaborate with others by electronically sending messages, documents, and files in data, text, voice, or multimedia over the Internet, intranets, extranets, and other computer networks.

Electronic conferencing tools

• Software that helps networked computer users share information and collaborate while working together on joint assignments, no matter where they are located.

• Collaborative Software that helps people accomplish or manage joint work activities.

Information Flow

Executive Information System

Executives

TPS

PCS

Operational Systems and Staff

DSSManagers

Enterprise Collaboration SystemOperations

Management

MIS

Enterprise Collaboration

• It provides tools to help to communicate ideas, share resources and coordinate work as members of many formal & informal teams and workgroups.

• The goal is to work together more effectively to-– communicate- share information with each other, coordinate-

coordinating individual work efforts & use of resources with each other, – collaborate-working together cooperatively on joint projects and

assignments.• Workgroup: It can be defined as two or more people working

together on the same task.• Team: defined as collaborative workgroup

• Types of Team-• Formal-traditional business office or department• Informal-members work for different organization

in different parts of the world.• Virtual team-members are united by tasks, not by

geography or membership in a larger organization.• In sociology and cultural anthropology these

workgroups are called social fields.• ECS make “Electronic social fields”

Components of ECS

Groupware

• It is a software that enables multiple users to share information with one another and to work together on multiple projects.

• Products are- Lotus Notes, Novell Groupwise, Microsoft Exchange

• It is designed to make communication & coordination of workgroup activities among end users no matter where the members are located.

• It helps the members of a team to collaborate on group projects at the same or different times at the same place or different locations.

Groupware for ECS

• Email• Internet Phone• Internet can be used for telephone voice mail,

fax with the help of PC and s/w like internet phone (Vocaltech), Netscape conference, Microsoft Netmeeting

• Configuration and speed of internet 00 quality of sound

Web publishing

Date and Voice Conferencing

• Voice conferencing-speaker phone system, s/w like Netscape conference & Microsoft Netmeeting, Telephone conversation over the net

• Data Conferencing-also known as white boarding, so/w connect two or more PCs over net so a team can share, make up, revise a whiteboard of drawings, documents displayed on their screens.

videoconferencing

• It enables video/audio (Real time) conference among networked PC (desktop videoconferencing) or networked conference rooms or auditorium in different locations (Teleconferencing)

• Important s/w used- CU-SEEME by white pine, pro share by Intel (DV)

• Teleconferencing is used mainly in sales meetings, new product announcements, employee education & training

• Not cost effective tool

Discussion forums

• It encourages and manages discussion by members of a project team.

• Team members can ask for and make comments, post messages, brainstorm, review documents, vote and make decisions online.

• S/W used-Lotus Notes, Netscape Collabra, etc

• Chat system• Electronic meeting systems- it facilitates the group

decision making activities that take place in a computer based decision room setting.

• Calendaring and scheduling- it is an electronic version of office tools such as a calendar, appointment book, address book, contact list, task to do list

• These are included in packages like Novell group wise Microsoft exchange, lotus organizer.

Task and Project Management

• Microsoft project, lotus organizer, CA-super project s/w are used

• These tools produce project schedules, program report and automatic reminders of due dates for project tasks.

• Produces charts e.g. Gantt, pert chart.

Knowledge Management Tool

• It is used to organize, manage, share diverse forms of business information created by individuals & teams and organization.

• Includes managing project & enterprise document libraries, hypermedia web site databases.