 | Level: Introductory Dick McCarrick, Content Developer, IBM
24 May 2005 Learn about the new features provided in IBM Workplace Collaboration Services 2.5, the latest addition to the IBM Workplace product family.
IBM Workplace Collaboration Services 2.5 provides a full range of integrated ready-to-use communication and collaboration capabilities that enable people to do their jobs more effectively. Major features include:
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Messaging services provides standards-based email and messaging features, accessible though a Web browser or a more fully featured rich client. Messaging includes calendaring and scheduling, and a personal address book.
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Team space services provides shared team spaces based on customizable templates.
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Web conferencing services provides integrated Web conferencing across your Workplace environment, offering instant access to live meetings and allowing team members to share presentations and collaborate in real time.
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Document services provides document management that lets you manage the complete life cycle of documents.
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Learning services is an online learning environment that lets you manage your training programs, resources, and courseware.
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Web content management services streamlines the Web content management process by providing content creation and management features.
In addition, the Workplace Managed Client 2.5 is available as an optionally licensed product. The Workplace Managed Client is a set of tools for building small-footprint, server-managed client applications that provide users with a richer experience than a Web browser can provide when using Workplace Collaboration Services features. (As this article goes to press, the Workplace Managed Client 2.5 is available as a beta version; the Gold release of the product will ship in mid-2005.)
By seamlessly combining these capabilities into a completely integrated collaborative environment, IBM Workplace Collaboration Services 2.5 gives you a single corporate-wide collaboration solution "right out of the box." In addition, IBM Workplace Collaboration Services allows you the flexibility to deploy one, two, or more of these features in any combination. This lets you tailor your environment, providing different users with the functionality most appropriate for their responsibilities.
IBM Workplace Collaboration Services is part of the IBM Workplace family of products. Other IBM Workplace product families include IBM Lotus Notes and Domino, IBM WebSphere Portal, and IBM WebSphere Everyplace. These product families are designed to deliver the right capability to different types of users in a secure, dynamic work environment. IBM Workplace Collaboration Services is built on top of the IBM WebSphere and J2EE infrastructures. This base includes WebSphere Application Server, WebSphere Portal, and WebSphere Member Manager. Optionally, the IBM Workplace environment also includes IBM Directory Server and a relational data store provided by IBM DB2 Universal Database.
This article describes the key features available in IBM Workplace Collaboration Services 2.5. We briefly introduce each major feature area, and then discuss the key features provided in this new release. You don't need to be experienced with IBM Workplace Collaboration Services or other IBM Workplace products to learn from this article, although some familiarity with the IBM Workplace product family will help you understand some of the concepts and terms we discuss. To learn more about IBM Workplace products, visit the IBM Workplace resource center.
IBM Workplace Managed Client
As we mentioned earlier, the IBM Workplace Managed Client (often called the rich client) is an optionally licensed product that provides a platform you can use to build IBM Workplace client applications. The Workplace Managed Client allows you to extend management and security features found in server-based platforms to your Workplace Collaboration Services community. This gives you the best of both worlds: the flexibility and portability of client applications combined with the cost savings and centralized control of Web-based server management.
For example, users can access Workplace Collaboration Services or the separate Workplace capabilities (such as messaging and document services) through the Workplace Managed Client, as an alternative to using a Web browser. These users then have available to them rich client functionality, such as a new collaboration features called the Activity Explorer, productivity tools, database access tool, search, synchronization, integration with MS Office and MS Windows, and the ability to work offline. This allows for a more full-featured rich client experience than a Web browser can provide.
The Workplace Managed Client 2.5 includes a number of important functionality and usability enhancements. For example, the new Activity Explorer lets you more effectively track and manage multiple activities for a process or project. With Activity Explorer, team members can record and organize conversations and shared documents, via a structured, easy-to-navigate interface. You can share email, chat messages, files, and shared screens, associating related information together as activities. This helps you organize key information so that it is readily available and easy to find. With Activity Explorer, you can also assign presence to objects as well as people.
On the subject of project and process management, the new project planner tool helps you plan, schedule, and manage projects. The project planner tool can also read and write Microsoft Project files.
The Workplace Managed Client 2.5 offers several new user interface components. For instance, an embedded browser has been added to allow you to open and navigate Web pages directly from within the rich client. A new Application Switcher bar allows you to start and manage multiple applications and pages. Additionally, email messages now feature an attention indicator that provides information such as indicating whether you are listed in the To or cc field for that message.
Other Workplace Managed Client 2.5 enhancements include:
- Data access tool to create forms, grids, and reports to create, modify, remove, and view database record summaries stored in IBM Cloudscape.
- Printing support for mail messages and calendar documents.
- Kiosk support so multiple users can access a single machine that runs one instance of the rich client. Individual users log in to access personal applications and files.
- Performance improvements allowing client applications to install and open faster.
- Spreadsheet editor enhancements, allowing you to open and edit Lotus 1-2-3 or Microsoft Office spreadsheets.
- File management improvements to let you create local document libraries that you can integrate with public libraries stored on a server.
- IBM Workplace Collaboration Services API Toolkit that developers can use to build and deploy custom rich-client applications.
In addition, you can run Domino 7 applications (such as Lotus Notes 7) on the Workplace Managed Client without modifications. As we go to press, Lotus Notes/Domino 7 is available as a public Beta, and will be released in mid-2005.
Messaging services
Workplace Collaboration Services messaging services (see Figure 1) provides standards-based email in a scalable, secure, and easily deployed environment. You can integrate this messaging into your existing infrastructure, using your corporate LDAP directory to store user information such as names and addresses. (See the developerWorks: Lotus article, "Configuring LDAP for IBM Workplace Collaboration Services 2.5.")
Figure 1. Mail
You can access Workplace Collaboration Services mail through a Web browser, or through the Workplace Managed Client. When using the Workplace Managed Client, you can work with your mail both when connected to the network and when disconnected.
In addition to email, Workplace Collaboration Services provides calendaring and scheduling features for maintaining and managing calendar events. A Personal Address Book (see Figure 2) lets you manage contact information for people and for group mailing lists. Messaging is also integrated with "common" Workplace Collaboration Services functionality, such as instant messaging and chat.
Figure 2. Personal Address Book
In release 2.5, Workplace Collaboration Services mail offers spam identification and filtering. When you drag a message to your Junk Mail folder, this message is automatically classified as spam mail. Future messages you receive from the same sender will then be directly sent to Junk Mail. And messages that have been identified as spam mail are automatically deleted after a specified number of days.
Workplace Collaboration Services 2.5 also features improved scalability, allowing larger mail files and a larger number of users supported within a single environment. Additionally, application programmers will welcome the new messaging APIs, allowing them to do things such as integrate third-party anti-virus products.
Team space services
With Workplace Collaboration Services team spaces, users schedule and attend online meetings, create shared document libraries, and communicate with team members via threaded discussion forums and online chats. Team space services include:
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Applications. These can be IBM Workplace applications, including team spaces where members can participate in discussions and chats, share documents and a team calendar; and documents for maintaining document libraries. Other types of applications supported by team space services include HTML-enabled Domino applications and custom-built applications.
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Web Conferences. These are online meetings in which moderators present information to attendees.
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Templates. Workplace Collaboration Services 2.5 provides tools for creating, customizing, and managing application templates. You can also design and customize forms to use in your applications.
Workplace Collaboration Services 2.5 includes a number of enhancements to applications, templates, and forms functionality. For instance, the Templates link connects users with the Application Template Library and the Form Template Library. These libraries contain the templates you need for building applications. In addition to the existing Team Project, Document Library, Discussion, Chat Room, and Domino Application Access templates, Workplace Collaboration Services now offers several new team space templates. These include the Event Planning and Employee HR Site templates, as well as other templates designed for specific functional work groups: Customer Support Team, HR Team, Sales Team, and Marketing Team.
Other application enhancements include role-based access to application pages, where pages can be displayed or hidden based on assigned template roles. It's now easier to create and deploy forms -- you can choose from 18 form templates or create a form to use in an application. Each form template includes fields and views for creating entries and viewing data. You no longer need a separate layout tool to edit a page.The new Portlet palette and drag-and-drop portlet functionality give you improved application editing capabilities. In addition, you can now use Microsoft Windows Explorer to view document libraries, and Microsoft Office to save a document in an IBM Workplace document library.
IBM Workplace Collaboration Services team spaces, documents, and Web conferences have also been enhanced in 2.5. For instance, the process required to create Web conferences and team spaces has been streamlined -- after you create a Web conference or team space, the new Web conference or team space immediately appears. You can sort columns in the team space catalog, and notify team members when a new member is added.
Document services
Workplace Collaboration Services 2.5 document services (see Figure 3) comprise a standards-based document management system for maintaining and controlling access to critical documents.
Figure 3. Documents
In Workplace Collaboration Services 2.5, document services give you the following:
- Document library for checking documents in and out, document locking, and versioning.
- Structured access for quick setup of library access. You can control who sees which documents -- information needed corporate-wide can be easily viewed by everyone, while more sensitive information can be restricted to a limited audience.
- Document editors to modify popular document types (Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft PowerPoint) even when native editors are not installed.
- Security features, including the ability to store documents outside the file system for protection against viruses and other risks.
In addition, document services are fully integrated with Workplace Collaboration Services common instant messaging and chat capabilities.
Document services can be accessed through a Web browser or the Workplace Managed Client. When using the latter, you have the capability of working offline, creating and managing documents locally, and later synchronizing your updates to the server when you reconnect to the network.
Learning services
Workplace Collaboration Services 2.5 learning (see Figure 4) lets you manage classroom-based and online learning activities, resources, and courseware. Workplace Collaboration Services includes an easy-to-use interface for students to search for, preview, enroll in, and take online courses. Course information is stored on the Learning Server; the courses themselves are presented on the Delivery Server. Workplace Collaboration Services 2.5 also provides an administrative interface for course developers and instructors, and an authoring tool lets course developers create courses.
Figure 4. Learning
Workplace Collaboration Services 2.5 includes enhanced collaborative learning capabilities. Class tasks, class discussion and document library, class calendar, live-session scheduling, and synchronous chat are integrated and available as part of the course experience. Also available are Web service APIs to integrate learning services with external applications.
Web content management services
Workplace Collaboration Services Web content management services are the tools you need to manage your company's content. Workplace Collaboration Services lets you control every step of the content development process. For example, you can create new documents using the easy-to-learn WYSIWYG rich text editor, using versioning and rollback features to manage multiple content versions as the documents are reviewed and updated. Workflow automatically sends the content to the appropriate reviewers for comment and approval. And when your content is ready for "prime time," Workplace Collaboration Services helps you prepare and present it for publication on the Internet, intranet, and extranet Web sites.
Workplace Collaboration Services also lets you integrate content from various sources -- an important feature for companies that have collected large libraries of legacy information over the years. This data (which up to now may only have been available to a limited audience) can now be given much wider distribution via the Web. This legacy information can exist in several different formats, including Domino, DB2, and Oracle.
Workplace Collaboration Services 2.5 offers an improved Web content management user interface, featuring a single screen (consisting of two portlets) for authoring, previewing, and rendering features.
Installation has also been simplified. Web content management services are automatically installed and configured when you install Workplace Collaboration Services 2.5. WebSphere Member Manager is now supported, providing a single system to manage users. And Web content management is now available on the Hewlett-Packard UX platform. In addition, Workplace Collaboration Service Web content management supports a number of new languages, including (in alphabetical order) Albanian, Arabic, Belorussian, Bulgarian, Catalan, Croatian, Estonian, Hebrew, Hindi, Icelandic, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Romanian, Serbian (Cyrillic), Serbian (Latin), Slovak, Slovenian, Thai, and Ukrainian.
Administration enhancements
In addition to the product enhancements we've discussed, Workplace Collaboration Services 2.5 also features a number of improvements designed to make the administrator's life easier. For example, installation and configuration has been significantly streamlined. You now can use a single utility to install all Workplace Collaboration Services components, including WebSphere Application Server, WebSphere Portal, Cloudscape, and the Workplace server. When you do this, all patches and fixes are also installed. You can then customize your environment with two new utilities: the Database Migration utility to change from using the default Cloudscape database to DB2, Oracle, or Microsoft SQL Server; and the Security utility to connect to an LDAP directory, in addition to the default WebSphere Member Manager directory.
The architecture for Workplace Collaboration Services 2.5 has been updated to improve performance. You can now support a larger number of users in your environment, reducing overall administrative overhead. And to minimize user training, we've simplified the user interface, incorporating more intuitive graphics and simplified menus. The Portlet palette (mentioned earlier) allows users to add portlets and customize their workplaces. The Welcome page now displays information applicable to all Workplace Collaboration Services products and features. And the People palette (showing the People Finder and Instant Contacts portlets) is now minimized by default.
Workplace Collaboration Services 2.5 supports WebSphere Edge server, Tivoli Access Manager, and Sun Java System Portal Server (formerly SunOne Portal server) as proxy servers. And the Workplace server now runs on the Sun Solaris 9 and IBM iSeries OS/400 platforms. (For a complete list of supported platforms, see the IBM Workplace Collaboration Services documentation.) In addition, new APIs provide access to most of the common functions available in the Workplace Collaboration Services user interface. This allows Java and Web Services developers to create custom components.
Conclusion
As you can see, IBM Workplace Collaboration Services 2.5 represents a major upgrade to the IBM Workplace family of products. New Workplace Managed Client features greatly expand the user experience, especially for those who work online. Mail offers spam prevention and other new features. Team spaces are now much more flexible, allowing you to modify and adapt these services to your work group's specific needs. At the same time, the expanded template library gives you more choices to quickly select and deploy a team space suitable for your work group. The document and content management capabilities have been significantly expanded and improved. And administrators will welcome the greatly simplified installation and configuration. These and many other new features help fulfill the early promise of previous releases of IBM Workplace products.
Resources
About the author | | | Dick McCarrick is a content developer for developerWorks: Lotus. Previously he was a member of the Domino/Notes Documentation team for over 11 years, playing a variety of roles in documenting many major components of Domino and Notes. He also wrote the occasional article for Iris Today (including Ask Professor INI) before joining the Notes.net/Lotus Developer Domain team permanently in 2002. In his spare time, Dick's leisure activities include running, fishing, woodworking, and reading about the natural sciences. An avid astronomer, he's former director of the Bridgewater (Mass.) State College Observatory. Dick lives in Vermont. |
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