Internet World: Real-time collaboration tools revamped

By Carolyn Duffy Marsan
Network World Fusion, 10/07/99

NEW YORK - With corporate interest in real-time collaboration over the Web on the rise, vendors at the Fall Internet World '99 show this week are offering a peek at soon-to-be-released applications that let users chat, share applications, view files and tour Web sites over the Internet.

Among the companies showing new real-time collaboration applications are Tribal Voice of Scotts Valley, Calif., Contigo Software of San Diego and eShare Technologies of Commack, N.Y. All three companies are adding features for use in corporate intranets and extranets.

In November, Tribal Voice will ship a new version of its PowWow instant messaging application that features a revamped, portal-like interface. Codenamed Chameleon, the software supports voice messaging, voice chat, file transfer and Web touring. The new interface includes a buddy list, built-in Web browser and eight tabs that can be programmed with news or applications.

Richard Dym, vice president of marketing, says the new version of PowWow will be interoperable with instant messaging services offered by AOL, Microsoft and Yahoo! However, Dym admits that Tribal Voice has not yet gotten AOL's approval for integration with the company's popular instant messaging services, AOL and ICQ. But he says Tribal Voice has developed a workaround that is "legal."

Later this year, Tribal Voice will ship a software developers' kit that provides application programming interfaces to third parties that want to build customized applications on top of Chameleon. In future versions, Tribal Voice plans to support corporate directory systems such as Novell Directory Services and to integrate with third-party applications in such areas as human resources and customer support, Dym says.

Tribal Voice provides instant messaging technology to ISPs and corporate customers. The U.K.'s largest ISP FreeServe, AT&T, WorldNet and Alta Vista use the technology. Since its release in August, about 30 companies have installed PowWow for Private Networks, the enterprise version of the software.

Contigo Software is showing a new suite of Internet conferencing products that support Web touring, presentation sharing, online meetings, software demonstrations, interactive chat, polling and whiteboarding. New features of the i2i product line include integrated encryption and certification through RSA and improved scheduling. The i2i products can support from 10 to 1,500 simultaneous users.

Contigo will ship four versions of the software, with prices dependent on the number of users that can attend virtual conferences. The basic Meeting version is shipping, with a 10-user license priced at $2,799. Also available now is Meeting Pro, which adds security, recording, playback and scheduling features. A 50-user license of Meeting Pro costs $11,499.

Next month, Contigo will ship the Seminar version, which adds seminar management and lead tracking features. A 50-user license costs $18,499. The Enterprise version, which supports up to 20 concurrent Web conferences, comes with a Web management console. A 100-user license will cost $44,999. The Enterprise version will ship in January.

Written in Java, Contigo's i2i is server software runs on Windows NT, Sun Solaris and Linux platforms. Future versions will feature integration with corporate directory products, says Charles Keiper, vice president of marketing. Contigo's enterprise customers include Sterling Commerce, Oracle, Sun, Dell and Compaq.

EShare Technologies is showing its Connections product, which lets Web developers incorporate instant messaging into their sites. The software lets end users chat, send and receive files, store conversations and set alarms when friends have logged on. It also allows end users to create a library of favorite URLs. Company officials say the software works through HTTP firewalls.

EShare Connections is part of a suite of products for Web site developers that includes NetAgent Response, an e-mail response management systems for enterprise customers, NetAgent, which supports real-time customer service, and Expressions, which supports chat and threaded discussions.