Gettin' Groovy

How do you work with people in other organizations? These could be partners, vendors, or even customers. Sharing documents and information across multiple network boundaries is often a cumbersome process, with participants almost solely dependent on sending and receiving e-mail attachments.

The problem with e-mail attachments, apart from server space issues, is the existence of multiple versions of the same document floating around the organization. Sending e-mail attachments between organizations further complicates matters because now these multiple versions have the potential to take on lives of their own within multiple locales.

Microsoft Office Groove 2007 makes it easy to work across network boundaries by bringing people together in decentralized workspaces. Decentralized workspaces securely operate outside the network firewall, allowing people from multiple companies to share documents and information with each other in a controlled environment.

Office Groove 2007 is installed locally on each participant's computer. Only people running Groove can access Groove workspaces, and they can only access the workspaces to which they've been invited. Each workspace member receives a local copy of the workspace documents and discussions. You can even add and synchronize documents stored in a Windows SharePoint Services document library.

When changes are made, the changes—and only the changes—are synchronized between each member's computer. This means you can work seamlessly with documents online or offline, updating your virtual team when you happen to have an Internet connection. Groovy.

For more information on Microsoft Office Groove 2007, visit https://office.microsoft.com/groove.

For more tips and tricks for the 2007 Microsoft Office System, pick up a copy of Evan Archilla's new book, So That's How! Timesavers, Breakthroughs, and Everyday Genius, available now wherever books are sold.