Groupware

software applications that facilitate shared work over long distances on documents and information. Groupware supports person-to-person collaborations and includesLotus Notes,Livelink from Open Text Intranets, E-mail, Silent Meeting Systems, Videoconferencing, etc. A good reference for groupware is found in http://www.collaborate.com/chapt1.html. Netscape's discussion of groupware is at http://home.netscape.com/comprod/products/communicator/faq.html. See also Collaboration and CMC.

A class of software that helps groups of colleagues (workgroups) attached to a local-area network organize their activities. Typically, groupware supports the following operations:· scheduling meetings and allocating resources· e-mail· password protection for documents· telephone utilities· electronic newsletters· file distributionGroupware is sometimes called workgroup productivity software.