Several companies are fusing collaboration functionality with software and application development toolsets to streamline application development processes that typically span geographically disperse groups of workers.
Groove Networks this week will partner with LogicLibrary to integrate Groove's virtual collaboration software with LogicLibrary's software development asset mapping and discovery engine. Meanwhile, Yahoo last week inked a deal with BEA Systems to add IM and presence-awareness capabilities to BEA WebLogic Workshop development environment.
Groove's Workspace extends the basic chat and discussion tools in LogicLibrary's Logidex to a rich collaboration environment including video, VoIP (Voice over IP), document sharing, and virtual team workrooms, according to Greg Coticchia, CEO of Pittsburgh-based LogicLibrary.
The goal, according to Coticchia, is to allow developers "to build collaborative apps more efficiently at a lower cost."
The integrated offering allows developers to manage software development assets in a secure environment and share that information with others in a cohesive way.
These assets produced throughout the development lifecycle -- including project requirements, code, testing information, and documentation -- must to be shared across geographically disparate teams, Coticchia said.
The current method of "throwing the work over the wall to the next group," creates stovepipe functionality and is no longer effective, Coticchia said.
Powerful collaboration functionality tied to application and software development allows developers to reuse assets across departments and geographical locations.
In addition to satisfying the collaborative needs of the development process, deeper collaborative capabilities are needed to address the impact of Web services on development, according to Jason Bloomberg, senior analyst at ZapThink in Waltham, Mass.
"At the enterprise level, software development involves multiple people in different organizations. This is especially true as companies move toward service-oriented architectures and abstract functionality across multiple systems," Bloomberg said. "You can't build a services-oriented architecture without collaboration."
The forthcoming version of Yahoo's Messenger Enterprise Edition will tie IM and presence awareness with application development, thereby allowing developers to build back-end applications infused with presence and IM awareness.
Tying the collaboration building blocks of real-time chat and presence awareness into BEA's WebLogic Workshop virtual development environment allows developers to weave collaboration tools into the core fabric of the business, said Ken Hickman, senior direct of product strategy at Yahoo, based in Sunnyvale, Calif.
"Presence itself is a killer tool companies are looking at integrating throughout the business process," Hickman said.
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