TSR Collaboration 1.0

Full text

(1)The State-of-the-Art Technologies and Practices in Enterprise Business Collaboration - An OVERVIEW Version 3.0 Dated: 21/11/2002. Author: George Eby Mathew Contributors The author acknowledges the contribution of the following colleagues for their insights in defining enterprise collaboration and the scope of this research project. Jacob Varghese Dr. Girish Prabhu Kanwal Rai Manish Srivastava Sanjay Rajshekhar Dr. Shubhashis Sengupta Sreekumar S Sumanta Deb. IMPORTANT: Content and viewpoints expressed in this document are Infosys’ intellectual property. This document is proprietary to the business of Infosys and shall not be disclosed to any third party without prior approval of the author(s).. For more information contact: George Eby Mathew Tel : 91-80-4173896 Email: [email protected]. © Infosys 2002. The information provided in this document is intended for the sole use of the recipient. It shall be used for internal purposes only and shall not be redistributed in entirety or in parts in any form. Infosys makes no express or implied warranties relating to the information contained in this document or to any derived results obtained by the recipient from the use of the information in the document. Infosys further does not guarantee the sequence, timeliness, accuracy or completeness of the information and will not be liable in any way to the recipient for any delays, inaccuracies, errors in, or omissions of, any of the information or in the transmission thereof, or for any damages arising there from. Opinions and forecasts constitute our judgment at the time of release and are subject to change without notice. This document does not contain information provided to us in confidence by our clients. Additional information is available upon request.. © 2002 Infosys Technologies Limited. Collaboration Technologies – TSR. Page 1 of 74.

(2) Reviewers The author wishes to thank the following for their valuable inputs and comments: Dr. Balasubramaniam S P, DCG Dr. Girish Prabhu, SETLabs Rahul Tyagi, DCG Dr. Shubhashis Sengupta, SETLabs Dr. Srinivas Padmanbhuni, APAC. About this Report This report attempts to document existing practices in enterprise business collaboration and the role of information technology in shaping the future of enterprise business collaboration. The author’s value addition to this report has been in the research and analysis of material publicly available, to define the subject, identify key elements, and to set the scope of research on the subject in the context of Infosys. The report recognizes and draws inspiration extensively from the work of several vendors, as well as users of enterprise collaboration such as Wal-Mart. It has also leveraged the work of standards bodies and industry organizations including VICS, UCC and CPFR.org who have played pioneering roles in spear heading the cause of collaboration across industry verticals. It has also drawn insights from the research and analysis of analyst organizations such as Giga and MetaGroup, though not extensively. The section on the role of human factors in collaboration is the contribution of Dr. Girish Prabhu of SETLabs, an expert in the field. The categorization and explanations of collaborative technologies and standards appearing in Appendices A and B are derived from the definitions given by various public sources aggregated by websites, particularly www.techtarget.com and www.about.com. Besides, this research has relied on hours of research put in by researchers at Infosys and SETLabs on associated areas of collaboration like Web Services, portals, enterprise architecture and BPM. The author acknowledges the copyrights of all the sources referred or quoted in this document. The author has attempted to list a complete set of references in Section 16 of the document. Care is taken to maintain the integrity and originality of the research represented in this document. However, any semblance to published third party research is purely coincidental. Further Research. ». Ascertain whether synchronous and asynchronous collaboration are more relevant to systems collaboration than business collaboration. ». Examine collaboration areas like virtual design / implementation teams (for global SI like Infosys), collaborative real-time decision support system (for engineering majors like Schlumburger or Shell), support teams for field sales force agents, etc.. The following business themes may be revisited with additional research:. ». Transactional level is different from informational level collaboration as info sharing may be for better vendor preparedness while transactional is for joint plan execution. © 2002 Infosys Technologies Limited. Collaboration Technologies – TSR. Page 2 of 74.

(3) ». Re-examine the impact of Internal and External collaboration in the enterprise context using examples like Volvo's Green car (Marketing Vs Production) and Cambell Soup's winter promotion disaster. ». Discuss the evolution of CPFR as a contribution of Richard Drayer and Sam Walton original contribution of CFAR, which morphed into CPFR. ». Differentiate between the roles of JMI and VMI, JIT 1 and JIT 2 in the evolution of collaboration. ». Include more case studies like Inoki Lopez (GM - Head of Procurement) vis-à-vis Bob Lutz (Head of Chrysler) in early 90s and how Bob's collaborative efforts led to Chrysler's turnaround. The following technology areas to be added:. ». EDI data formats like X.12 / EDIFACT. ». Transaction support of Web Services, Web Services coordination, WS transaction and BTP. ». New age messaging products like SonicMQ. ». Agent technology as an important element of collaboration initiatives. ». The work of W3C and OASIS in collaboration. ». HTTPR needs to be mentioned. ». Interoperability issues with XML collaboration.. © 2002 Infosys Technologies Limited. Collaboration Technologies – TSR. Page 3 of 74.

(4) CONTENTS 1.. 2.. 3.. 4.. 5.. 6.. Introduction and Definition of Collaboration .................................................................... 7 1.1. Introduction to Collaboration ........................................................................................ 7. 1.2. Defining Collaboration.................................................................................................. 7. 1.3. Other Definitions of Collaboration ................................................................................ 8. 1.4. Levels of Enterprise Collaboration ............................................................................... 9. 1.5. Goals of Collaboration................................................................................................ 10. Modes of collaboration ..................................................................................................... 11 2.1. Tactical and Strategic Collaboration .......................................................................... 11. 2.2. Synchronous and Asynchronous Collaboration ......................................................... 11. 2.3. Internal and External Collaboration............................................................................ 11. 2.4. Other Ways of Differentiating Collaboration............................................................... 12. Drivers for collaboration ................................................................................................... 13 3.1. Shift from Ownership to Partnership .......................................................................... 13. 3.2. Trust Built between Trading Partners ........................................................................ 13. 3.3. Information Technology.............................................................................................. 13. Impact of automation on collaboration ........................................................................... 19 4.1. Automated Transactions ............................................................................................ 19. 4.2. Automated Processes ................................................................................................ 19. 4.3. Automated Services ................................................................................................... 20. Business benefits of collaboration .................................................................................. 21 5.1. Create Strategic Differentiation .................................................................................. 21. 5.2. Leveraging Partner and Supplier Strengths............................................................... 21. 5.3. Reduced Risk ............................................................................................................. 21. 5.4. Lower Costs ............................................................................................................... 21. 5.5. Improved Customer and Supplier Service ................................................................. 21. 5.6. Increased Performance.............................................................................................. 22. Enterprise Application of collaboration .......................................................................... 23 6.1. B2B and B2C Collaboration ....................................................................................... 23. 6.2. Supply Chain Collaboration........................................................................................ 23. 6.3. Collaborative Product Development (CPD) ............................................................... 27. © 2002 Infosys Technologies Limited. Collaboration Technologies – TSR. Page 4 of 74.

(5) 6.4 7.. 8.. Knowledge Management and Collaboration Technologies ....................................... 29. Deployment scenarios and considerations for collaboration....................................... 32 7.1. Deployment Scenarios ............................................................................................... 32. 7.2. Building Solutions for Change.................................................................................... 32. 7.3. Deployment Considerations ....................................................................................... 33. Characteristics and challenges of a collaborative enterprise ...................................... 36 8.1. Characteristics of a Collaborative Enterprise............................................................. 36. 8.2. Challenges to Collaboration ....................................................................................... 36. 9.. Role of IT in collaboration................................................................................................. 39. 10.. Role of HUMAN FACTORS in collaboration.................................................................... 40 10.1 Usage-Centered Design............................................................................................. 40 10.2 Adoption and Acceptance .......................................................................................... 40 10.3 Support for Appropriate Communication Structure .................................................... 41 10.4 Customization and Grounding ................................................................................... 41 10.5 Decision Making Control ............................................................................................ 41 10.6 Awareness.................................................................................................................. 41 10.7 Usability Issues .......................................................................................................... 42. 11.. An overview of collaboration standards ......................................................................... 43 11.1 Information Level Standards ...................................................................................... 43 11.2 System Level Collaboration Standards ...................................................................... 44 11.3 Process Level Collaboration Standards..................................................................... 44 11.4 Relationship Level Collaboration Standards .............................................................. 44 11.5 Specific Standards for Collaborative Commerce ....................................................... 44 11.6 Vertical Standards ...................................................................................................... 48. 12.. An overview of collaborative technologies..................................................................... 49 12.1 Infrastructure Technologies........................................................................................ 49 12.2 Integration Technologies............................................................................................ 49 12.3 Interactivity technologies............................................................................................ 50. 13.. Web Services...................................................................................................................... 51 13.1 Impact of Web Services on Collaboration Vendors ................................................... 51 13.2 Enterprise Security..................................................................................................... 53. 14.. Role of Collaboration Products........................................................................................ 55 14.1 Workgroup Products .................................................................................................. 55. © 2002 Infosys Technologies Limited. Collaboration Technologies – TSR. Page 5 of 74.

(6) 14.2 Collaboration Products and Security.......................................................................... 56 15.. Role and Impact of Technology Vendors and Service Providers in Collaboration .... 57 15.1 Microsoft..................................................................................................................... 57 15.2 Lotus/IBM ................................................................................................................... 58 15.3 Vertical Solution Vendors........................................................................................... 58. 16.. Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 60. 17.. References.......................................................................................................................... 61. 18.. APPENDIX A – Collaborative Technologies Explained ................................................. 62. 19.. APPENDIX B - Standards for Collaboration Explained.................................................. 73. © 2002 Infosys Technologies Limited. Collaboration Technologies – TSR. Page 6 of 74.

(7) 1. 1.1. Introduction and Definition of Collaboration Introduction to Collaboration. The term collaboration has a wide scope of application. It is usually used to refer to people working together on common tasks or the aid extended to a thing or a person to produce or create something new. The usage of the term collaboration is nonrestrictive as it cuts across arts, science and culture. For example, a team of interdisciplinary researchers physically working on a joint research project or a cross-cultural artistic endeavor, which results in mutual benefit, can be classified as a collaborative effort. Technologies, particularly those in IT and communication, have widened the scope of collaboration. Today, collaboration includes virtual workgroups that bring people together virtually via telephone, email or videoconference, essentially reducing distance and enhancing the experience of physical interaction. Storage technologies together with relational databases and file systems have created a new context to the meaning of collaboration - that of sharing or reuse. Dispersed departments use collaboration technologies to share a presentation or a document. With the use of versioning, they are able to simultaneously work on the same draft versions without duplicating efforts and at the same time utilizing resources that can even be globally interspersed. Thus, technologies give collaboration a new meaning by reducing time and space barriers to bring people together delivering additional value to businesses. Technology-enabled collaboration today has evolved beyond the workgroup of individuals and has garnered interest from corporations, researchers, technology vendors and even governments. For instance, modern democratic governance models envision citizenry virtually participating through referendums in policy making. Medical doctors seek to work in virtual collaborative teams when faced with critical choices. Educators have long experimented with virtual classrooms and build avenues to get education across to the masses. In industry, which will be our focus, collaboration has evoked interest in business-to-business as well as business-to-consumer areas. For example, customer service manufacturers are finding new ways of reaching out to their customers by fielding support and service networks that maintain constant contact with the customer. Collaborative business designs, where suppliers and manufacturers collaborate in supply chain and collaborative product design processes involve people, processes and technology across multiple organizations working on the same business, is becoming common. With globalization and more outsourcing happening, there is a wider realization of the benefits of separating a company’s core and context in business. The increasing trend is to let experts handle the contextual part of a company’s business while building its core business. Designers and manufacturers are looking for greater integration of their respective processes to improve time to market and so on. These trends are largely responsible for renewed interest in collaboration.. 1.2. Defining Collaboration. It is evident that collaboration assumes a new sense of purpose because of the role of technologies in its evolution. Most of the existing definitions of technology-enabled collaboration, as is widely understood, still has © 2002 Infosys Technologies Limited. Collaboration Technologies – TSR. Page 7 of 74.

(8) to do with getting people to work together virtually in paperless offices or workgroups in what is termed as workgroup collaboration. We find that new technologies have helped collaboration assume a new purpose in the context of running day-to-day business operations especially in the enterprise. Increasingly the maturity of automation in collaborative efforts especially in areas like transaction processing and process automation is eliminating the need of human intervention. Collaboration in the business context therefore becomes meaningless without attributing a role to technology in the collaborative process. The use of the term collaboration in a context devoid of technologies still exists. We ascribe to the validity of such use. However, for the purpose of research, it is imperative that we arrive at a definition for technologyenabled collaboration when used in the context of the enterprise applications in business. The absence of a suitable definition for collaboration that encapsulates both the people dimensions as well as the business dimension of technology-enabled collaboration is evident from our literature review. The quest of finding one has been challenging and the need is evident. Ideal collaboration is about enabling people, process and technology to work seamlessly in a business. The closest definition we could arrive at from our survey of associated literature could be articulated as follows: Enterprise Collaboration deals with the partnering of activities, knowledge and assets by multiple stakeholders in a dynamic environment with the objective of gaining a business advantage. Collaboration technologies facilitate the integration of knowledge and work products of an interacting shareholder group using a common infrastructure.. 1.3. Other Definitions of Collaboration. Concours Group: Collaboration is working together with the intention to create something new, which is superior to what any one entity could have created alone. Collaboration creates synergy, where the value of the whole is greater than the sum of parts. Gartner: Collaborative commerce or c-commerce involves the collaborative, electronically enabled business interactions among an enterprise's internal personnel, business partners and customers throughout a trading community. The trading community can be an industry, an industry segment, or a supply chain or supply chain segment. For some enterprises, c-commerce is already a fact of business life, but how can they measure it? It is not yet quantifiable with any consistency. It is not a class of software and it is difficult even to define. IBM’s e-collaboration: e-collaboration leverages the connective powers of the Internet to coordinate the efforts of two or more companies. Using e-collaborative capabilities, partners can operate as a single business entity. They can make joint decisions and focus on adding value for their customers. The rewards for all participants are simple but profound: higher revenues and reduced costs. For example, e-collaboration might enable manufacturers and their suppliers to do business differently. Instead of traditional vertical supply and demand chains, trading partners might form value networks with horizontal connections. A supplier might link to a retailer's consumer sales tracking system and use that knowledge to help the retailer maintain optimal inventory levels enabling shared knowledge and joint decision-making.. © 2002 Infosys Technologies Limited. Collaboration Technologies – TSR. Page 8 of 74.

(9) Forrester Research: Dynamic collaboration is win-win partnerships that share business activities across a network of allies.. 1.4. Levels of Enterprise Collaboration. There are four possible levels of collaboration depending on the complexity and maturity of the collaborative process:. ». Information level (or transactional collaboration): sharing of data and information e.g. prices, inventory data, logistics data, business performance data, design data, etc.. ». Systems level: sharing of applications, source code, software, middleware, databases and repositories, hardware, etc.. ». Process level: sharing parts of a procurement process, inventory management process, supply chain processes, product design processes, etc.. ». Relationship level: sharing of contextual competencies e.g. tire manufacturing with automobile design, outsourcing context. The highest level of maturity at this level will be to exhibit dynamic collaboration capabilities wherein enterprises are able to identify partners and work with them electronically.. An enterprise can be at any of these levels of maturity for its collaboration initiatives. Fundamentally, since information level collaboration standards are mature and stable, technologies are capable of seamlessly integrating and interfacing with information artifacts across the enterprise and outside. In fact, email, browser technologies and portals are the best examples of seamless, information-based collaboration at work. This works irrespective of the platform and technologies that are used to retrieve information. Information level collaboration today is mature and pervasive, especially with the Internet being commonplace. However, that is not true for transaction level or system collaboration or even process level collaboration. Not just because technologies lack maturity but also because there are several components like process maturity and organization design that has to work together to effect such collaboration. Above all, such collaboration should make ample business sense to investors. In many enterprises, we see that a number of transactional areas, such as traditional order processing and replenishment, are being replaced by automated transactional and process collaboration. We believe that relationship level of collaboration at the enterprise level is the ultimate point that enterprises can reach with collaboration technologies. However, the complexity of achieving this is manifold because it requires newer attributes for exhibiting relationship behavior such as trust and security that the collaborative environment has to inherently demonstrate (Fig 1).. © 2002 Infosys Technologies Limited. Collaboration Technologies – TSR. Page 9 of 74.

(10) Figure 1: Infosys’ Enterprise Evolution Model is built on increasing collaborative capability of enterprises. A Level 4 enterprise will have advanced externally focused technologies, highly optimized processes and extremely flexible organization design as opposed to a Level 1 company, which just about automates task and information. Source: SETLabs Research. 1.5. Goals of Collaboration. Having defined enterprise collaboration and the levels of collaboration, the goals and end objectives of collaboration become clearer. In our understanding, there are two main objectives, which are targeted in any collaborative effort: 1) integration of people, process and technology, and 2) superior communication and synchronization. ». Integration of people, process and technology: Any collaborative effort would aim at bringing integration between people and processes, people and technology, and technology and processes. Strategic integration of business processes with enterprise-wide systems and people forms the crux of collaboration giving rise to human cooperation as well as business-technology co-operation resulting in active participation with customers, and better execution of business partner relationships.. ». Superior communication and synchronization: The other outcome of collaboration is more accurate, frequent, and two-way or multiple-way communication across all company locations, better information exchange with partners, enhanced knowledge management, and improved external communications to the customer base and the market at large. This results in better synchronization of all activities in the organization.. © 2002 Infosys Technologies Limited. Collaboration Technologies – TSR. Page 10 of 74.

(11) 2.. Modes of collaboration. There are broadly three modes of collaboration based on implementation:. ». Tactical and Strategic Collaboration. ». Synchronous (Real-time) and Asynchronous Collaboration. ». Internal and External Collaboration (i.e. with respect to the enterprise). 2.1. Tactical and Strategic Collaboration. This classification of enterprise collaboration depends on its role in the enterprise:. ». Tactical collaboration – to improve operational /business efficiency (for short-term business benefits). ». Strategic collaboration – to differentiate businesses and build barriers to competition (for long-term business benefits). 2.2. Synchronous and Asynchronous Collaboration. The distinction between synchronous and asynchronous collaboration is distinctive. In some cases, the collaborative process requires very quick feedback from other participants. These instances are normally classified as synchronous collaboration. Examples are teller applications in Internet banking or real-time information management application for a stock broking firm. Synchronous collaboration is essentially defined as multiple users/devices collaborating at the same time or near real–time. In other cases, the turnaround is hours or days. Examples are batch processing of sales data from remote locations updated periodically based on reports. Though most systems are built for asynchronous collaboration, wherein participants do not respond immediately, synchronous collaboration or, more accurately, real-time collaboration is an emerging trend.. 2.3. Internal and External Collaboration. Internal collaboration involves rationalization and integration of corporate business processes in order to improve services, increase efficiency, lower costs and to integrate with the marketplace. Internal collaboration is more than implementation of technology such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM) or supply chain management (SCM) software. In reality, few companies have sufficiently changed the ways they operate to capitalize on the full potential of internal process collaboration. The differentiation between internal and external collaboration is simple. Internal collaboration improves processes within business units so that there is minimal latency between executions of sequential tasks that make up an internal process. At one level of internal collaboration, business units band together to achieve economies of scale in procurement or transportation and ultimately reduce the cost for the enterprise as a whole. Achievement of further saving and growth requires economies of scale or scope beyond business unit boundaries. Another approach to external collaboration is to link processes such as product development and manufacturing across business partners to reduce cycle time or develop new customer offerings. Internal collaboration is more difficult than external collaboration. Major obstacles for internal collaboration include organizational, managerial or political barriers. These have to do with loyalties to process design or © 2002 Infosys Technologies Limited. Collaboration Technologies – TSR. Page 11 of 74.

(12) systems implementation. Outside the corporation, market place and customer power set the rules and increasingly dictate the basis of collaboration. External collaboration cannot precede internal collaboration in most collaboration scenarios (Fig 2.). Figure 2: External collaboration may not be successful without internal collaboration in place Source: SETLabs Research. 2.4 ». Other Ways of Differentiating Collaboration Global vs. Regional – based on time zones, regulations, culture, etc.. ». Active vs. Passive – who waits and who initiates?. ». One-way vs. Two-way vs. Multi-way (point-to-point vs. many-to-many). ». Distributed vs. Centralized. ». Persistent vs. Ephemeral – stored or merely forwarded?. ». Private vs. Group vs. Public. © 2002 Infosys Technologies Limited. Collaboration Technologies – TSR. Page 12 of 74.

(13) 3.. Drivers for collaboration. 3.1. Shift from Ownership to Partnership. During the 1990s, cross-border direct investment dominated the corporate world, and decision makers believed that an acquisition is essential in the new market they wanted to enter. In recent times, there has been a rethink in the trends wherein ownerships is often seen as a liability overshadowing return on investments. A widely adopted strategic means is to quickly create alliances with strategic partners rather than acquiring them. Boardrooms are convinced of the need to collaborate but their deliberation is more on whom to collaborate with, rather than why to collaborate. Consequently, business collaboration is proliferating across and within industries rather than cocooning themselves within highly competitive environments. Making the case for collaboration are factors such as the need to faster access to new markets, products, processes and technologies, leverage globalization, reduce time to market, increase resource sharing, and speed. Trends are evident particularly in pharmaceutical companies like Eli Lilly, Monsanto, Pfizer, etc., where building networks of alliances with thousands of partners is a norm. RDBMS magnate Oracle has approximately 15,000 business alliances. A drastic shift from ownership favoring collaboration also results from the flexibility partnership offers. It is less taxing on the regulations front, integration issues does arise so also partnerships are less risky compared to buyout deals. Most importantly, they also enable individuals to maintain their independent market and brand identity.. 3.2. Trust Built between Trading Partners. Another key driver for a successful collaborative partnership would be the extension of trust built between trading partners that facilitate transparency in operations as a pre-requisite to building enterprises around collaborative networks. Leveraging existing partnerships and new technologies that secure networks allow the sharing of information and business processes resulting in trading partners being able to operate a business process seamlessly, interactively and dynamically without the fear of risks.. 3.3. Information Technology. Low cost and ease of the Internet infrastructure is one of the key drivers for collaborative commerce. It is interesting that “Internet” had its beginning as an application for collaboration as it evolved as an offshoot of a document-based collaboration project (for sharing and annotating research artifacts on-line in a virtual group) at CERN laboratory. Besides the Internet, over the years, the cost of data interchange has been falling primarily because of increased deployment and demand for communication infrastructure. A faster rate of technology adoption in data transfer domains has led to a decline in cost of technology ownership. By leveraging the Internet, a company saves on transmission costs compared to sending data over a private data network such as a Value Added Network (VAN). It is not just about connectivity alone; it is about richer. © 2002 Infosys Technologies Limited. Collaboration Technologies – TSR. Page 13 of 74.

(14) collaboration. Technologies around the Internet, unlike technologies such as EDI, have brought about ease of connectivity between enterprises, their partners and customers in various network combinations. In the next few years, widespread use of broadband technologies will further plummet the cost of data/voice exchange making it feasible for applications (such as video conferencing and VoIP) to augment the potential of Web-enabled customer support services. Newer technologies are often open, flexible, and easier to manage and maintain. Consequently, the cost of collaboration has been steadily reducing (Fig 3).. Figure 3: Better technologies have ensured lower cost of collaboration Source: SETLabs Research. 3.3.1. Convergence of Integration, Interactivity and Infrastructure Technologies. The Internet though stable but not completely secure, has delivered an open platform with multiple redundancies and lower cost of ownership. However, the broad integration space has bred multiple products and standards with neither distinct identity nor stable direction to its evolution. So is the interactivity space. Enthralling as it may seem, interactivity, as we know it today, does not have common standards or directions that can hold together the energies of all its stakeholders to converge to enterprise needs. For application developers trying to meet their client’s need for infrastructure, integration and interactivity, there is a problem to solve: that of bringing the three disconnected philosophies together for the enterprise user. Besides, it becomes more important in ubiquitous computing paradigm that collaboration between multiple users with different devices takes into consideration various display factors such as size, input methods, scope of information depiction, etc. We think that this trinity of technologies will mature to yield an optimal platform for global collaboration allowing borderless enterprises. By confluence, we mean the impact these technologies have on the dynamics of technology development as well as enterprise adoption. In the early 1990s, the absence of pervasive. © 2002 Infosys Technologies Limited. Collaboration Technologies – TSR. Page 14 of 74.

(15) information networks like the Internet stifled inter-departmental and inter-enterprise integration. Though networking technologies such as FDDI, ATM and Frame Relay enabled campus-wide resource sharing, their proprietary leanings restricted them to only a few privileged people in the enterprise. True enterprise-wide collaboration in its rudimentary form came about only with intranets and extranets with direct benefits of a low cost infrastructure (Fig 4.). Figure 4: Convergence of technologies is building a global collaboration platform. However, the dotted ellipse represents greatest impact for the evolution of collaboration technologies Source: SETLabs Research. Interestingly, the absence of openness in network standards in yesteryears not only lowered integration opportunities but also fuelled the buildup of vertically integrated applications within enterprises. Applications for departmental productivity such as MRP (manufacturing resource planning) and financial accounting solutions were further developed without a view of horizontal integration. A case in point would be the evolution of ERP applications (1990s). These were built over 15 years, but did not have customer or partner interfaces until the late 90s. The ERP story demonstrates dependence and an interesting correlation between infrastructure and integration technologies. Today, few applications are built without a view of its potential use in an integrated scenario. For example, an email program written in the future would have both wireless and wire line connectivity, and a browser would possibly have database access or data replication features in a wireless environment. The role of interactive technologies in this trinity is new and essentially articulates the human controls (e.g. decisions) in the enterprise. The role of interactive technologies is only emerging. We expect very few applications in the future would be written without device independence, accessibility, or mobility in. Consideration. According to Peter Tandler of GMD, in ubiquitous computing, as multiple users could be working with different devices, the collaboration architecture will have to support flexible, mobile and dynamic. © 2002 Infosys Technologies Limited. Collaboration Technologies – TSR. Page 15 of 74.

(16) work practices.. Additionally customer applications can then act on updated data and perform actions based on pre-determined business rules or wait for a decision from a supervisor.. 3.3.2. Networked Businesses. In enterprise IT, a fresh perspective has accompanied every major system architecture shift affecting its role in the enterprise (Fig 5), ranging from the basic nature of the hardware platforms (mainframe, minicomputers, to desktops) to the strategies and assumptions about basic business value (TCO, network management, etc.) being delivered. It is evident that the development of adaptable technologies (for example, ERP) has been the result of business demands as well as major waves of innovation that have significantly increased corporate interest in technologies and a rethink on the role of enterprise IT. TECHNOLOGY. Monolithic. Distributed. Service Oriented. EVOLUTION. Computing. Computing. Computing. Proprietary and. PLATFORMS. Centralized. NETWORKS. Closed. DATA. Stored and. CHARACTERISTICS. used locally. TECHNOLOGY. Localized. Distributed of computing. Networking of computing. FOCUS. computing. power. power. STAKE HOLDERS. EDP staff. Suppliers, employees. Businesses of suppliers and. and customers. partners. Digitization of processes. Digitization of services. ENTERPRISE IMPACT. Digitization of tasks. Controlled LANs/WANS/ Internet Central/Distributed, storage and shared across network. Diverse and adaptable Pervasive Infrastructure Storage on network and used at point of application. Figure 5: The evolution of computing has had strategic consequences on enterprises Source: SETLabs Research/Stencil Group. In the business realms too, changes have been occurring towards the better. Large businesses dealing with hundreds of suppliers are looking for avenues that can help them move away from mere synchronization to realtime configuration of their value networks. They are looking at creating networks around their outsourced businesses rather than around outsourced processes. They are looking for ways of managing discontinuity as opposed to making inter-company processes work more efficiently, and so on (Fig 6.). © 2002 Infosys Technologies Limited. Collaboration Technologies – TSR. Page 16 of 74.

(17) BUSINESS EVOLUTION BUSINESS STRATEGY OPERATING STRATEGY CORE AND CONTEXT DIFFRENTIATION. Information Networks Selective partnering. ROLL OF TECHNOLOGY APPROACH TO INNOVATION. Push or pull information Pre-determined. Premeditated. PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENTS. Lagging metrics. Alignment of value chains Fuzzy view of core. ERP oriented software design.. Process Networks Outsourcing & globalization Synchronization of value chains Process level differentiation of core. E.g. customer service outsourced Synchronize multiple transactions Inter process articulation for preempted scenarios Real time metrics.. Business Networks Dynamic partnering Real time value chain configuration Increased differentiation between core and context. Outsource everything else. Seek – find – bind Manage Discontinuity. Build for change Leading metrics.. Figure 6: Businesses have evolved over the years to accept technology as a strategic change agent Source: SETLabs Research. 3.3.3. Emergence of XML as the De facto Data Transport. XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a flexible way to create common information formats on the Web, intranets, and other networks, and can be used by any individual or group of individuals or companies that wants to share information in a consistent way. The use of XML for exchanging data between different application systems in business-to-business collaboration enables a host of new relationships between companies, vendors, suppliers and customers. Exporting data from application suites and developer tools using XML is becoming standardized. XML will have a major impact on catalog vendors. Proprietary catalog systems will be dropped in favor of industry standards based on XML. XML’s advantage comes from its tagging characteristics that creates self-identifying data structures and helps companies with different commerce applications communicate with one another.. 3.3.4. Complementary Role of Web Services to EAI as a New Approach to Middleware. EAI (Enterprise Application Integration) and Web services are current and future approaches to integrating disparate systems, which do not share common vocabulary. They work as translators between two systems built differently. EAI has reduced the time necessary to develop solutions that integrate multiple applications from multiple vendors. However, the trouble with EAI technologies is that they focus on data-level integration rather than application-level integration, which is essential to provide a service flavor to integration. Web Services are currently thought of as a solution that complement current EAI technologies as a middleware for internal integration in the enterprise and assume external integration roles when its security concerns are addressed.. © 2002 Infosys Technologies Limited. Collaboration Technologies – TSR. Page 17 of 74.

(18) Fundamentally, the difference between conventional EAI and Web Services lie in the fact that conventional EAI does not create generic, flexible processes that enable reuse. On the other hand, Web services inherit several advantages that service-oriented architectures have over middleware approaches, foremost of which is flexibility. Though existing EAI applications have been quite successful in point-to-point integration, their complexity and high costs have always been a major hindrance to the progress of integration. Existing EAI solutions tend to be complex and expensive to implement because they rely on proprietary technology that is expensive to acquire, operate and maintain. Web services are building blocks that enable collaboration. The role of Web Services is becoming prominent in collaborative scenarios. The heightened interest is because of its component characteristics and its usage that makes it easier to develop, deploy and manage in a collaborative environment.. © 2002 Infosys Technologies Limited. Collaboration Technologies – TSR. Page 18 of 74.

(19) 4.. Impact of automation on collaboration. The key achievement of IT is in the impact it has had on the way machines and humans interact. From a technology point of view, the last two decades have seen a shift from PC-centric computing to network-centric computing, changing the way people depended on computers. In the 1980s, PCs were used for personal productivity. In the 90s, people collaborated with each other using a workgroup environment characterized by the use of computers as intermediaries. Post 2000, we are witnessing collaboration being extended to the enterprise level over a collaborative environment defined by the Internet and application integration. What we are seeing is a change in our dependence on computers. We are letting computers in one enterprise talk to computers in another. In other words, we are empowering computers to articulate relationships. IT is being used to demarcate the boundaries of mundane tasks (by allowing machines to automate them) and decision-making (which are human dependant). Essentially, automation initiatives are being segmented into those that deal with empowering machines and those that deal with empowering people depending on the task versus decision ratios in a business process. In our view, the future of interactive technology research will focus on decision support systems to improve the collaboration of human minds and computers in a virtual world; and unlike infrastructure and integration technologies, maturity is a long way off.. 4.1. Automated Transactions. Characterized by transactional level automation such as in Internet banking or in B2B applications, functionally automated transactions are concerned with automating a collaborative task that was done manually previously. For example, searching through a catalog and placing an order can now be automated with the help of Web technologies aligned to certain sets of business rules. At an advanced level, automation can involve scanning of a vendor’s website for updated pricing information that can be fed into an internal system, which then triggers off a number of other routines.. 4.2. Automated Processes. Automated processes are characterized by capabilities that handle multiple sets of transactions involving a sequence and conditional routines. An example would be auto-replenishment process in a retail chain where systems track inventory levels of a product at showroom locations. When a shortfall appears, the application sifts through a possible set of actions to determine the most profitable process for replenishment. The application listens to a continuous feed of product pricing from numerous suppliers to settle on the best price and check for availability among its suppliers. Once matches are obtained, the system can be programmed to place purchase orders as well as arrange for shipment automatically. Advanced systems also employ a combination of human intervention and escalation mechanisms.. © 2002 Infosys Technologies Limited. Collaboration Technologies – TSR. Page 19 of 74.

(20) 4.3. Automated Services. Relatively newer technologies and standards like XML, BPML and Web Services are instrumental in evolving a new paradigm wherein services can be automated with high levels of quality. Such systems incorporate automation at multiple layers of interactivity and integration, making it appear to user as if there is a seamless process running at the back-end. These sets of applications find tremendous use at kiosks and services like ticketing. For example, when a corporation makes a travel booking, the website where it books its air ticket would also be able to throw up hotel and taxi services for the trip that meets the user criterion without having a hard wired linkage. These capabilities are possible because hotel and taxi services are available as Web Services that can be called in based on a set of agreed criteria articulated through standards based technologies. These technologies can associate a user specification and can “scout” for matches on the Web from service providers.. © 2002 Infosys Technologies Limited. Collaboration Technologies – TSR. Page 20 of 74.

(21) 5.. Business benefits of collaboration. Collaboration should be considered seriously for the business benefits ensuing from it, although it might be difficult to execute it in some cases. At the same time, collaboration is by no means necessary or appropriate in all industries or enterprises, and it is often a question of how much to collaborate. It is a give and take decision in some cases. While in others, decisions are governed by how accountability and responsibility can be maintained in a collaborative environment. For example, when critical responsibility for success in an internal collaboration is shared among business units, it is difficult to hold any participating entity accountable for a negative outcome. The benefits of collaboration are often readily identifiable and simple to understand:. 5.1. Create Strategic Differentiation. Some industries especially in information aggregation businesses use collaboration successfully to differentiate themselves from competition. For example, by integrating the product lines using a collaborative network based strategy, Capital One, (a credit card services company) is able to cross-sell 100,000 segments or product combinations to 57% of its customer base of 43.8 million. It uses IT as an enabler to turn a business into a scientific laboratory where every decision about product design, marketing, channels of communication, credit lines, customer selection, collection policies, and cross-selling as well as testing by extensive experimentation.. 5.2. Leveraging Partner and Supplier Strengths. Well-articulated collaboration provides a process and an organizational platform for extending processes outside the company and leveraging relationships with customers, suppliers and other business partners. Especially in the supply chain context this leads to reduced operating costs, a single demand plan shared by all network partners, information updated anywhere in the network and reduced inventory needs.. 5.3. Reduced Risk. Collaboration lowers risk for a business from individual partners by reducing the dependence on single suppliers, single customer or a single manufacturing plant for key products.. 5.4. Lower Costs. Lower costs accrue by reducing inefficiencies and process duplications, sharing common processes and eliminating activities that do not contribute to success.. 5.5. Improved Customer and Supplier Service. Collaborative enterprises often use collaboration to deliver better QoS to customers and partners. They are able to maintain a consistent level of service by integrating front-end and back-end processes to meet the needs and demands of customers and suppliers.. © 2002 Infosys Technologies Limited. Collaboration Technologies – TSR. Page 21 of 74.

(22) 5.6. Increased Performance. By improving speed, quality and flexibility, companies are able to enhance performance and achieve economies of scale as well as optimize asset and resource utilization at all levels.. © 2002 Infosys Technologies Limited. Collaboration Technologies – TSR. Page 22 of 74.

(23) 6. 6.1. Enterprise Application of collaboration B2B and B2C Collaboration. Online commerce is no longer seen as an extension of a company’s trading channels or even as an alternate trading channel. It is assuming a role beyond commerce wherein activities such as leveraging complementary strengths of multiple companies (B2B) to deliver a unified customer experience or for pure business economics are becoming commonplace. It is also about leveraging economies of scale, pursuing core competencies and leveraging the often-untapped potential of customer feedback and customer service. As a result, there is scope for product and service aggregation at the design/manufacture side as well as at the sell side of an enterprise. Online collaboration is also affecting consumer (B2C) behavior. In the beginning of online commerce, consumers looked for online avenues primarily for lower prices than the catalogued prices, a freebie, or to avoid the bother of the grocery store even though their order fulfillment happened much later than the point of purchase. More than product categories and prices, a consumer in a collaborative environment would seek advice, unique product selections and round-the-clock customer service. They also have access to multiple product lines and combination of customized services that were previously unavailable. Customer service itself is evolving into a high value proposition for retaining customers globally for large corporations. Organizations are able to leverage cost economies of different locations and cultures using collaborative environments to showcase a seamless customer experience. More examples of B2B and B2C collaboration are given in the following sections.. 6.1.1. Products for B2B Collaboration. Collaboration with channel partners such as resellers and distributors is different from direct consumer collaboration. Channel partner collaboration is focused on business process sharing where partners are enabled to share information as well as processes such as order/price/brand management while using documents such as request for quote/proposal/information and providing information about availability and capability to deliver. This form of collaboration involves the ability to create co-branded virtual showrooms so that manufacturers and retailers can work together in supporting the end-consumers' need for products and services. Products such as Exterprise, iMediation, and InfoNow support the creation of virtual showrooms. These application providers develop all the integration connections to back-end systems but are having limited success with their current set of integration capabilities.. 6.2. Supply Chain Collaboration. The vision of supply chain management (SCM) evolved with the aim of integrating disparate functions like forecasting, purchase, manufacture, distribution, sales and marketing into a single continuous process that envelops the company’s suppliers and customers, apart from the company itself. SCM promised to remove barriers between enterprises, where all participants act in unison to serve the end-customer. It is only over the last decade that this vision came closer to reality with the adoption of IT that enabled integration and collaboration among players in the supply chain. © 2002 Infosys Technologies Limited. Collaboration Technologies – TSR. Page 23 of 74.

(24) Some of the key drivers for supply chain collaboration are the following:. ». Competition is no longer between big and small companies, it is between fast and slow supply chains. Time-based competition infers that companies’ supply chains must get the right product to the right place at the right time.. ». Efficient and effective supply chains depend on having the right information available to the right person, at the right time that enable different participants in a supply chain to act in unison, thus achieving optimization across the supply chain. Organizations would therefore need to get hold of IT to transform their supply chains, enabling collaboration for information sharing, joint planning and forecasting, synchronized operations, and fast adaptive response to disruptions.. Usage of IT in enterprises began with automating tasks, with subsequent addition of networking capability. The consequent ability to exchange information led to automation of transactions. The primary benefits from these implementations were speed and efficiency. Later, in the 80s and the 90s, the waves of IT rollout within enterprises coincided with the emphasis on business efficiency and stress on doing the right things (in other words, effectiveness). Intra-departmental application stovepipes were integrated to enable cross-functional processes, thus enabling internal collaboration. Here, not only was efficiency improved by use of “best practices” and benchmarking, managers were also able to make tradeoff decisions between departmental optimizations and practices that would add value to the whole enterprise. These initial lessons learned about the benefits of collaboration were, however, still restricted to the four walls of the enterprise. Some of the vivid benefits for a collaborative supply chain are the following:. ». Reduced operating costs. ». Integrated performance measures. ». Single demand plan shared by all network partners. ». Updated information anywhere in the network. ». Reduced inventory needs. SCEM (Supply Chain Event Management) is an emerging area where automation has a key role to play.. 6.2.1. Products for Procurement. Procurement forms an important part of the supply chain collaboration. Procurement is defined by two or more organizations working together to procure goods and services in bulk to reduce costs. This collaboration may occur in a public exchange environment or it can be a private hub where lines of business aggregate their demand to reduce the costs of finished goods or raw material. Organizations also collaborate on supplier aggregation models where one organization aggregates the spending on products to eliminate redundant vendors and purchase in larger lots from one supplier. Software vendors such as SAP/Commerce One, i2 /Ariba, Exterprise, and Infobank provide the infrastructure components for this type of collaboration. These vendors will need more time to overcome some of the heavy-duty process components of many-to-many marketplaces.. © 2002 Infosys Technologies Limited. Collaboration Technologies – TSR. Page 24 of 74.

(25) 6.2.2. Collaborative Planning Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR). CPFR is the latest in a series of concepts and initiatives that have emerged, developed, and evolved as part of an important piece of the SCM puzzle. Today’s replenishment techniques have resulted from the contributions of several initiatives and ideation processes spanning over two decades. Some of these include classic re-order point min/max systems, productions sales and inventory (PSI), just in time (JIT), just in time II (JIT II), vendor managed inventory (VMI), distribution resources planning quick response (QR), manufacturing resources planning (MRP), efficient consumer response (ECR), and jointly managed inventory (JMI), to name a few. CPFR is a concept that allows collaborative processes across the supply chain, using a set of process and technology models. The objective of the concept is to establish collaborative processes across the supply chain that are:. ». Open yet secure. ». Flexible across the industry. ». Extensible to all supply chain processes. ». Support a broad set of requirements (new data types, interoperability with different DBMSs, etc.). The vision of the CPFR initiative is closely tied with similar efforts that have preceded it such as ECR, Quick Response and VMI. One of the key contributors to the CPFR vision is Voluntary Inter-industry Commerce Standards Association (VICS), a voluntary, nonprofit organization. VICS takes a global leadership role in the ongoing improvement of the flow of product and product information throughout the entire supply chain in the general merchandise retail industry. Specifically, the Merchant Issues Group within VICS has undertaken several improvement initiatives related to general merchandising. The mission of CPFR development is to improve the partnership between Retailers and Vendor Merchants through shared information. It hopes to achieve this by providing an environment for dynamic information sharing, integrating both demand and supply side processes (linking manufacturers, retailers, and carriers), and effectively planning, forecasting, and replenishing customer needs through the total supply chain. One of the key steps in promoting dynamic information sharing, identified as part of CPFR, is the development of a communication infrastructure that enable collaboration among the partners in the supply chain processes. This infrastructure has three components:. ». Data content and format of the data that will be shared/communicated. ». A communication vehicle that support the sharing of the data. ». Security measures that ensure that the data shared/communicated is secure. VICS is running a pilot in collaboration with Wal-Mart, Lucent Technologies, Sara Lee Corporation, Ernst & Young LLP, SAP America and Sun Microsystems to addresses the dynamic information sharing that enable collaboration in the forecasting process. This is based partly on the positive results of an earlier initiative between Wal-Mart, Warner-Lambert, Benchmarking Partners, SAP and Manugistics. The current pilot effort extends this past success and involves industry-wide participation, usage of open standards, a broader set of requirements and systematic integration.. © 2002 Infosys Technologies Limited. Collaboration Technologies – TSR. Page 25 of 74.

(26) 6.2.2.1. Products for CPFR. CPFR follows a nine-step process on how to collaborate on planning and forecasting. CPFR vendors such as Demantra, Eqos, i2, IPNet, and Syncra have focused on providing a solution that supports the industry specific models. Some of the vendors, which have endorsed VICS CPFR, are i2 Technologies, IPNet Solutions, JDA Software Group, Logility, Manugistics Group, SAP, and Syncra Systems.. 6.2.3. Collaborative Transportation Management (CTM). With shorter planning windows and the universal objective of minimizing inventory in the value chain, transportation has become a critical opportunity in the process. Today, transportation is reactionary with buyers, sellers and carriers often in conflict to resolve shipment-level issues. This produces excess inventory and under-utilized carrier equipment. Sellers’ and buyers’ financial performance is dependent on the treatment of inventory. Often, it is in the process, but its status is unknown or delayed due to unavailable carrier capacity. Buyers and sellers maintain higher levels of inventory to accommodate these uncertainties. Another consequence is increased transportation costs that are paid to use secondary carriers, whose contract rates are not as advantageous as that of primary carriers. Yet another result is the overuse of or expedited services, with higher costs per unit of shipment, which drive higher transportation costs. The carrier relationship also affects the operational performance of sellers and buyers. . Physical distribution workflow is reactive and uneven, yielding increased costs and delays in handling. For example, discrepancies in purchase order quantities delay the receiving operations. Surprise carrier deliveries convert to wait time for the carrier, resulting in assessorial fees paid by the buyer or seller, and increased costs and delayed deliveries for the carrier. CTM aims to eliminate these issues, yielding reduced costs, increased asset utilization, improved service, increased revenues and improved end-customer satisfaction. CTM is an independent yet concurrent process with CPFR, building on the same relationships between buyers and sellers and incorporating new information and steps with the carriers. It extends CPFR’s end at order confirmation, and continues through shipment delivery and includes payment to the carrier. Like CPFR, CTM does not simply replicate what takes place today, but rather reengineers the whole process so that the carrier is now part of the larger, more focused buyer/seller team. As stated earlier, CTM can be a complimentary or independent process to CPFR. Although CTM may need some further refinement with or without CPFR, it does serve as the foundation. In the true sense, CTM affect the CPFR process model. CTM needs to anticipate, recognize and be able to adapt to the real world changes while maintaining the carrier relationships. 6.2.3.1. Technology Requirements for CTM. Like CPFR, CTM creates needs for new information and technologies to foster collaboration. Proponents of CTM (VICS, et al) envision CTM as vendor and platform independent, such that any trading partner entering a collaborative relationship will not be hindered by technical limitations. Existing technologies such as EDI, Webenabled host and client/server applications, as well as traditional paper and phone communications technologies will prove to be inadequate, but still be useful as foundations for scalable CTM. The following. © 2002 Infosys Technologies Limited. Collaboration Technologies – TSR. Page 26 of 74.

(27) technology considerations are explored further to accommodate the goals of vendor and platform independence:. ». Standards. ». Scalability. ». Security. ». Openness of design. ». Manageability. ». Resiliency. ». Vehicle(s) for collaboration. ». Data formats. ». Transport protocols. 6.2.3.2. The benefits of CTM. The benefits and power of collaboration extend across the execution chain to buyer, seller and carrier, as each suffers in the collapse of plans and the scramble to mediate changes. Collaboration in execution improves competitiveness for all partners by improving communications, strengthening their positions in the market with agile supply chain execution capabilities. CTM benefit all parties with:. ». Reduced costs. ». Increased asset utilization. ». Improved service levels. ». Increased revenues. ». Improved end-customer satisfaction. ». Increased visibility. 6.3. Collaborative Product Development (CPD). The crux of collaborative product design revolves around the need to involve the entire product development team — including customers and suppliers — during the development phase when a product’s most distinctive characteristics are defined. More participation by team members early in the process sharply reduces the need for changes later especially during tooling and manufacturing, eliminating delays and potential cost increases. Product design and development are in the midst of a revolution thanks to collaboration technologies. The tools used for product design, the process of gathering input and revising designs, and the roles of those in the extended enterprise are all changing. A new generation of online collaboration tools integrated with traditional CAD is transforming the product development fraternity. CPD uses two types of collaboration. One is information level collaboration that essentially gets the right information to the right people at the right time. However, significant savings come from the process level collaboration where everyone in the product development process participates, sharing and building on one another’s insights and ideas. New technologies allow people from different companies with incompatible. © 2002 Infosys Technologies Limited. Collaboration Technologies – TSR. Page 27 of 74.

(28) computing systems to meet virtually on Web environments. Instead of simply sending data from PC to PC, Web tools let people talk via their computers while looking at shared documents, carry on e-mail chats, and use electronic white boards where two or more people can draw pictures or charts, in real-time, as others watch and respond. There is also scope for real-time collaboration using the Web. Here, product development team members in different locations can add definition to the same product model at the same time and share work automatically and instantaneously with others. With a Web-native, real-time collaboration application, manufacturers can leverage extended product teams that include everyone from design and manufacturing engineers to sales and marketing team, suppliers, and customers. The benefits of such collaboration are all encompassing. Using the collaborative platform to optimize communications, schedule and to resource usage, manufacturers can significantly reduce the cycle time to bring new products to market. They can zero in on solutions for design and production challenges quickly, reducing costs. By exploring design alternatives together, team members can leapfrog to truly innovative solutions. CPD is in demand because of its potential to cut product development cycle times. CPD solutions are largely used by the industry to achieve reduced manufacturing costs (lower business travel expenses related with product development), reduced document production and shipping costs, shortened product development cycles (reduced engineering change order processing time), increased innovation, higher productivity, faster time to market and better communication. Giga estimates that in many cases, CPD solutions reduce product-development related travel expenses by 50-80% and document production and shipping costs by 90%. CPD software and services cover key solutions such as product sourcing solutions, after-sales service and support, computer-aided design, manufacturing and engineering, and manufacturing process management software. CPD functionality include:. ». Management of projects and programs. ». Management of portfolio. ». Interaction with suppliers. ». Shared visualization. ». Collaboration tools. ». Workflow. ». Product data management (PDM). ». Measurement of process improvement. It is interesting to note that in the current market, no single vendor offers comprehensive functionality in the areas identified above. Instead, large vendors have to rely on their business partners to cover broad solutions, while others offer point solutions that could be integrated together in a best-of-breed fashion. Broad solutions have the advantage of lower implementation cost and promise integration with other enterprise applications such as ERP, human resource management, manufacturing resource planning, etc. In the other case,. © 2002 Infosys Technologies Limited. Collaboration Technologies – TSR. Page 28 of 74.

(29) integrated point solutions demand higher implementation cost since extra work is needed for the system to work together.. 6.3.1. CPD Products and Product Trends. Design collaboration entails all the issues associated with discrete manufactured products, as well as those that are engineered or configured to order. These products can have a long procurement cycle, a seasonal cycle, or a short production cycle, but the key similarity is that they all start with specification documents (e.g., line drawing, schematic diagram, engineering drawing). This type of collaboration requires the specification documents to be shareable and modifiable by both parties (with appropriate audit trails), particularly with respect to the effective bill of materials referencing the documents. In this space, computer-aided design vendors such as Autodesk can leverage their design products. Traditionally, in this first phase, one party sends the document to another for review and costing via e-mail or regular mail and then collaborates on the document via telephone, e-mail, or regular mail, creating significant delays and cost overhead. Products such as those from PTC, MatrixOne, Agile, i2, and Oracle try to improve this or are heading toward this during the next 18-24 months. The next iteration in the product design cycle may be as simple as sending color/material samples for approval/pricing, as in apparel, or as complex as reviewing all the engineering data associated with the turbine output. requirements. with the collaboration tool needing to track. and manage the collaborative. environment/workflow processes. Collaboration tools that support this phase must manage the workflow associated with the documents. Here, document management vendors such as Documentum and FileNET leverage their workflow engines to enable the automation and tracking of the design process. Other document/process managers and transformation vendors such as Versata and FormScape also play in this space. In summary, the software and services used for collaborative product development fall under two main categories.. ». Top-tier vendors include large product lifecycle management (PLM) firms such as EDS, IBM, SAP and PTC. These firms usually serve multi-billion dollar clients.. ». Second-tier vendors are smaller in size compared with their top counterparts. Prominent firms serving large clients in this category include Agile Software, MatrixOne and Oracle.. 6.4. Knowledge Management and Collaboration Technologies. The concept of organizational knowledge as a valuable strategic asset is well-known. Leading firms therefore are finding that, to remain competitive, they must efficiently and effectively create, capture, locate, and share their organization's knowledge and expertise, and have the ability to bring that knowledge to bear on solving problems and creating opportunities across the enterprise. The development and leveraging of organizational knowledge to increase a firm's value is termed as knowledge management (KM). Knowledge management can be classified into three categories:. ». Distributed learning employs collaboration technologies to deliver training and education to geographically dispersed individuals and groups. Specific subject knowledge can be made accessible,. © 2002 Infosys Technologies Limited. Collaboration Technologies – TSR. Page 29 of 74.

(30) formally presented and transferred in a highly efficient and convenient manner, enabling people to integrate training and education with their day-to-day work responsibilities.. ». Communities of practice comprise people who engage in similar work practices. While these people may work either as teams or within different organizational units, they have a common need to capture, share, and leverage their collective knowledge related to that practice.. ». Enterprise knowledge management refers to the need of an entire organization to share and leverage knowledge among and across different knowledge communities and organizational units.. The management of organizational knowledge is fundamental to effective performance, and collaboration technologies play a central role here. Effectively applying collaboration technologies for knowledge management requires fitting the richness and interactivity of the communication mode to the degree of shared contextual knowledge. Collaboration technologies may also be useful to help structure or coordinate interaction to maximize learning and sharing among a community by automating particular communication techniques or rituals. Therefore, in cases where knowledge can be explicitly encoded and recorded, or where interpretive context is well-shared, collaboration technologies play a central role in its acquisition, combination, interpretation, and dissemination. Where knowledge is primarily tacit, these technologies support the personal interaction required for its sharing, creation and explication. Collaboration technologies, employed in this manner, can be used to develop knowledge maps that identify key sources of expertise or databases with pointers to important content.. 6.4.1. Role of Collaborative Technologies in Knowledge Management Solutions. The technologies that organizations use to coordinate collaborative KM services with other KM elements include: Search: Companies increasingly rely on sophisticated enterprise search engines, which increase in value with each additional content source searched. Given the valuable data generated by most collaboration systems, the ability to search collaborative content for variety of content is critical (e.g., a team room dedicated to a topic vs. a topic document). Search results eventually will include presence of information alongside document authors and experts identified by the search engine.. ». Taxonomy management: Taxonomy services define and compile categories of corporate content and provide a valuable mechanism for content discovery. Taxonomy services are, therefore, made richer by the ability to categorize collaborative content.. ». Expertise location: Many organizations will be investing in expertise location services during the next several years to improve access to appropriate human resources and to reduce redundant research and activities. Collaborative content is a rich source of expertise that can disclose undocumented and unacknowledged areas of specialization. Therefore, IT groups must ensure that collaborative content is exposed to expertise location services.. © 2002 Infosys Technologies Limited. Collaboration Technologies – TSR. Page 30 of 74.

No results found