CNet is reporting that Office is acquiring Groove and will be incoporating Groove’s collaboration software. Cool. Very cool.
Collaboration is a going to be a big deal for Tablets. Huge. Because it’s about improving communication. I used to not care much whenever anyone would talk about “collaboration.” It just didn’t mean much to me. But since I’ve been using a Tablet, I get it.
What I’ve noticed is that as I become more mobile my spurious thoughts or notes can be recorded just fine in ink, but I want to equally be able to interact in seemingly trivial ways with others as I move, sit or work and play wherever I am. And that’s what collaboration is all about. Yeah, I can sit at a desk and “collaborate” with team members overseas. But doing so on the go is a huge deal. Let’s say my other team members or a vendor are overseas. I may get the chance to work with them at 9:30 at night after doing the dishes. Or maybe my niece wants some help on her math homework? I want to do these from my Tablet.
Anyway, Groove’s solution isn’t quite what I want, but it’s the right direction and they have the P2P expertise that I imagine will be a benefit to Microsoft. I firmly believe that mobility is going to drive collaboration. And it’s great to see Microsoft is bringing them in.