Leveraging the Messaging Infrastructure for Groupware Applications

Microsoft Exchange Server provides the functionality that is required for the following types of groupware applications used by Fabrikam, Inc.:

• Person-to-person routing applications. Although the company's host-based messaging systems don't support this capability, users of the company's LAN-based system want to use e-mail for routing documents, spreadsheets, and other types of files. This capability and the frequent need to include other structured information with an attachment (such as forwarding a budget forecast spreadsheet to a vice president who might then expose information from the spreadsheet as a viewable field in a form), make the creation and routing of point-to-point forms an important capability.
• Bulletin board applications. A bulletin board can eliminate the usual difficulties associated with storing information in a file system and can automate and provide ready access to that information. Users no longer have to remember a multitude of network paths or passwords to find information. A variety of object types can be stored, including e-mail messages, documents, spreadsheets, slide presentations, and even voice-mail files. The user has a much broader set of options for viewing and finding files that contain OLE custom properties because the properties can be made visible in the client view.
• Discussion area (public folder) applications. Discussion areas enable users to participate in discussions in easily identifiable locations, rather than through e-mail, as is currently done at Fabrikam, Inc. It also eliminates the problem of trying to keep track of e-mail threads in end users' Inboxes.
• Tracking applications. In a workgroup-tracking application, users can combine the capabilities of bulletin boards and threaded conversations to create applications that help a group of people collaborate and share information. For instance, a customer-tracking application can enable sales staff to gather the latest information on a potential customer. After a call on the customer, the sales person can post information about the call and about outstanding customer issues, correspondence, and so on. This capability enables the sales personnel, who are typically connected only intermittently, to have the latest information. It also enables groups of people who are not necessarily in close physical contact to share information.