InformationWeek

Groupware For Intranets

By Jeff Angus

ntraActive Inc. is shipping a new version of its groupwa re product that makes it easier for users to collaborate and share documents over corporate intranets.

InTandem 3.0 is a collection of tools that provides scheduling, news feeds, discussion groups, and a document library. It runs on Windows NT and Unix systems and on various Web servers.

The program's design, according to IntraActive chief operating officer Larry Schlang, arose from the Washington company's work building major Web sites for lobbying groups, such as the Federation of American Health Systems, that need to communicate with their special-interest constituencies.

The company is now pitching the technology to corporate users who have the same needs for improving information management and collaboration. A news link, for example, can give users access to internal or external news sources. The document library includes searching and version-control features to help users find and keep track of pertinent information, Schlang says.

Analyst Mark Peabody of the Aberdeen Group, a research and consulting firm in Cambridge, Mass., believes InTandem is best suited for branch offices and for workgroups that include traveling sales forces.

Adds David Cearley, senior VP at the Meta Group, an IT research firm in Stamford, Conn., "InTandem's place in the spectrum of groupware-from the shrink-wrapped offerings from Lotus or Netscape Communications, to the custom solutions offered by consultants-is about in the middle. It's a very good product for companies looking for a pure Internet-standard solution."

But in the long term, Cearley believes, companies such as Microsoft and Lotus, which have more muscle in the shrink-wrapped groupware market, will force companies like IntraActive into the custom-solutions business.

InTandem starts at $95 per client but is also available for a monthly per-user charge.

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