From Australopithecus to 21st century man, the history of the human race has been based upon inter- and intragroup relationships. The earliest humans traveled, hunted, and lived in groups to increase their chances of survival. As the size and diversity of groups increased, basic hunting and gathering clans morphed into cooperative agricultural societies capable of incredible feats of technology, such as building the pyramids of Egypt, thousands of years before technologies developed by what we consider modern science. With the ability to communicate with one another, collaboration between larger and larger groups of individuals continued to grow, sometimes surmounting even the barrier of different languages.

Today’s technological society mirrors that of our ancestors. The ability to communicate, collaborate, and form common goals is still essential for our survival, whether as individuals, countries, or corporations. As IT has evolved from a large centralized mainframe environment to the PC/NC, client/server environment used in most corporate settings today, the need for a well-defined method for individuals within a group to form collaborative relationships has driven the creation of a new kind of software: groupware. One of the most difficult barriers to understanding groupware is the way in which software vendors have massaged the definition to suit their own product suites. Although the exact definition of groupware is expanding to encompass several rapidly evolving new technologies, the IT community tacitly agrees that all groupware applications be designed to facilitate certain activities, including messaging, workflow systems, group scheduling and project management, and decision support systems.

While the characteristics of various groupware systems may differ drastically in implementation and “feel,” they are all designed to enhance the ability of groups of people to communicate ideas between one another rapidly in order to collaborate on solutions to complex technological problems. Just as ancient peoples banded together to form solutions to problems of increasing competition for fixed resources, groupware allows large numbers of modern professionals to pool their individual talents to compete in today’s competitive economy.

Currently, two vendors seem to be running away with the groupware market. Lotus has been developing various incarnations of Lotus Notes and Domino since Plato Group Notes was released in 1976. Conversely, Microsoft, which was formed in 1975, is a relative newcomer to groupware with its Exchange product. (Exchange, which was

introduced in 1993, runs on Windows NT.) Although several other groupware products, such as Novell’s GroupWise, have made some penetration into the midrange market, Lotus and Microsoft will continue their dominance of AS/400 groupware solutions unless a newcomer like Netscape or Sun pulls off a real coup.

To give you some perspective on the depth and breadth of groupware, we begin this focus section with “Welcome to the Groupware Jungle,” tamas perlaky’s article on the heartbeat of group dynamics. In this piece, tamas shows how groupware is constantly being redefined, using the metaphor of basic human communication through song and dance to describe the nuances that together make groupware such a powerful tool for collaboration, one that leads to success in business.

Next, Richard Shaler drills down to the real-world problems of installing and configuring Lotus Domino, the only truly native groupware solution for the AS/400. Unlike a centralized OS/400 application suite, Domino contains all the complexity of today’s most advanced client/server enterprise solutions. In “Play Domino on Your AS/400,” Richard shows what you need to get started with Domino and how to put all the pieces together.

Switching gears, Joe Hertvik takes a critical look at a different, and sometimes neglected, area of groupware. In “Microsoft Office 2000: Another Fish in the Groupware Sea,” Joe demonstrates that the Microsoft Office product line is evolving into a sort of “everyman’s groupware,” complete with built-in workflow, discussion groups, and a gaggle of Web-enabling components. Although Joe cautions that Office 2000 isn’t yet completely stable, he makes a good case for customers to check out this low-end groupware solution.

In “Lotus NotesPump: A High-speed Data Pump for Your Enterprise,” I switch back to native Lotus Domino and delve into one of the fastest methods for moving data between an AS/400 and Notes clients. This article is a hands-on explanation of how to install, configure, and use Lotus NotesPump. Although this application takes a little time to set up, no programming is necessary to take advantage of its flexibility and power, making it an ideal data transfer option for resource-starved IT shops.

I guarantee to introduce you to some new ideas and concepts in this focus section. You may decide to stand back and let the groupware dust settle before making a strategic decision on your approach to this productivity aid, but at least you’ll be armed with the knowledge to make an educated guess about the future of groupware on the AS/400.