Groove touts performance in updated Virtual Office
Review from InfoWorld:
Collaboration software vendor Groove Networks Inc. next week plans to announce an updated version of its flagship software, which it said will offer better security, improved performance and new ease-of-use features.Previously known as Groove Workspace 2.5, Groove Virtual Office 3.0 has faster launch times and allows multiple Groove project workspaces to be opened without a noticeable performance hit, according to Andrew Mahon, director of strategic marketing at the Beverly, Mass.-based company.The product also includes a new on-screen launch bar, where contacts with other collaborators can be managed from a single place, as well as synchronization capabilities that allow users to automatically share folders on their Windows machines with other users.The 3.0 memory footprint seems to be smaller in our initial review, which reduces its impact on older systems.”With user data stored on the user's machine and automatically synced when online, “this is the killer app for us,” Schoonover said.David Marshak, an analyst at The Patricia Seybold Group Inc. in Boston, said Groove's key strength is that it combines real-time online collaboration capabilities with off-line workspaces. “The integration … is much better than anyone else has even attempted,” he said.Peter O'Kelly, an analyst at Burton Group in Boston, said Groove's natural competitors include Lotus Notes/Domino, which was invented by Groove's founder, Ray Ozzie, and other products such as Microsoft Corp.'s SharePoint and Macromedia Inc.'s Breeze. But none match Groove's exact feature set of security, collaboration and online/off-line work capabilities.”It really is at a sweet spot with a combination of features that no one else has completely,” O'Kelly said.Pricing starts at $179 per user for Virtual Office Professional Edition, with hosted relay and management services starting at $40 per user a year. Customers can also choose to host their own Groove servers, starting at $9,995 per server per year.