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Groove 2007 vs MOSS 2007 vs WSS 3.0 vs Communicator 2007 (Part 1)

  • Article

This is the first of a series of 6 posts.

Aim of post series

To compare Groove 2007, MOSS 2007, WSS 3.0 and Communicator 2007 and provide advice on when to use each product.

Current Confusion

There are several Microsoft collaborative products on the market, including:

1. Groove 2007 (and Groove Server or Groove Services 2007)

2. Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) 2007

3. Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) 3.0

4. Communicator 2007 (and Communications Server 2007)

Many people require clarification of:

· The collaborative functionality offered by each product

· How each product is implemented architecturally

By comparing each product in each of these areas it is also possible to outline what product(s) should and shouldn’t be used specific collaboration scenarios.

Product Overview

Groove 2007 is a client software application that uses workspaces to help teams collaborate. Workspaces can be easily created and include Document collaborative tools, Threaded discussions, Alerts, Workspace chat and IM. Groove 2007 complements Microsoft Office Groove Server 2007, a server-based technology which provides the software and tools used to deploy, manage and integrate Groove 2007 across an organisation.

MOSS 2007 is a server-based technology, delivered through a browser, which provides workspaces in which teams can collaborate. MOSS includes Collaboration, Portal, Enterprise search, Content management, Business Intelligence (BI) as well as Business forms and integration functionality.

WSS 3.0 is a cut-down version of MOSS 2007. It is freely available and included in Windows Server 2003. It provides Document collaborative tools, Wikis, Blogs, Really Simple Syndication (RSS), Discussion boards, Project task management, Contacts, Calendars and Tasks.

Communicator 2007 is a unified communications client which complements Microsoft Office Communications Server (OCS) 2007 to provide a range of communication capabilities, including Instant Messaging (IM), Presence, conferencing and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

Next

In my next post, a unique comparison of the collaborative functionality provided by each product will be made available.

Comments

  • Anonymous
    January 10, 2008
    Very interesting start to the series of 8. I look forward to reading more.

  • Anonymous
    August 08, 2008
    Thanks a lot for this great comparison series!