| Groupware Manager* |
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IMPORTANT:
Due to a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) with our client, the
names of the solution and the client have been changed. All
changed names have been prefixed with an asterisk (*). |
Groupware Manager* – Integrated
Suite of Web based applications
Our Client planned to develop a groupware of Web enabled
applications for information and knowledge sharing between workgroups.
Its intended targets were medium & large sized organizations.
Our Client required a comprehensive enterprise computing solution,
providing multi-platform, multi-protocol support. Icreon developed
Groupware Manager* for Our Client., to provide enterprises with
high-end tracking and management capabilities, along with the
ability to synchronize and manage activities for mobile workers.
As an integrated groupware, Groupware Manager* enables workgroups
to reduce project costs, improve staff efficiency, and foster
an appropriate change in business culture and profitability.
Customer Profile
A leading IT consulting organization based in Japan, Our Client.,
provides consultancy services to organizations in the field
of content management, online education systems, broadband,
e-commerce and mobile communication.
Business
Requirement
To manage operations efficiently, enterprises require coordination
of activities, schedules, and knowledge among team members working
on various projects. Our Client, recognized this requirement
within medium and large sized organizations, where large teams
need to coordinate while working on turnkey projects.
Solution
Benefits
Enhanced monitoring and management of operations
Fully customizable
Cross-platform (Mobile Devices/PC) portability, accessibility
and support
Centralized management driven by reliable & high-speed
database access
Multilingual (English/Japanese)
Integrated e-mail services that provide multiple POP3
access
Technologies & Platforms
PHP
HTML
MySQL
i-mode
EZWeb
WAP
Jphone
Windows
Linux
Solaris
Macintosh
Apache Server
IIS Server
Requirement
Our Client is a leading IT consultancy services organization
based in Tokyo, Japan. The company observed the growing need
among medium and large sized enterprises to coordinate and synchronize
internal operations among large teams for efficient manageability.
The larger the team size greater is the probability of mismanagement
and lack of coordination. In its effort to prevent this situation,
Our Client. conceived the idea of a groupware that would allow
team members and co-workers to manage and schedule tasks, proactively.
The solution had to be developed as an integrated Web enabled
groupware that could be ported on mobile devices as well as
PCs. This would allow enhanced manageability of operations through
continuous and global data accessibility. Workgroups would be
well informed about the regular tasks that they would need to
perform. With increased coordination, managers would be able
to track and manage projects effectively, at reduced costs.
With these considerations, Our Client., ventured with Icreon
to develop a comprehensive groupware to perform enterprise critical
operations. The objective was not only to develop an integrated
groupware, but also to make it accessible over multiple platforms.
Enterprise Computing for
Effective Manageability of Operations
During the initial stages of the project, we at realized that
data was required to be accessible over public channels or the
Internet. Consequently, security was a major concern for this
project. Besides this, we had to ensure that Groupware Manager*
was customizable by end-users to suit their business requirements.
For us, the key areas of focus were:
Seamless and secure data access
Multi platform support
Multi lingual and multi terminal support
Net-ready mobile phones support
Highly secure & reliable data access
Customized and user-friendly front-end
After extensive research on the technology alternates, the teams
at Icreon and Our Client decided to setup a 3-tier architecture
for Groupware Manager* using HTML, PHP and MySQL to retrieve,
store and present data. |
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| Front-End |
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Backend |
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Multi-byte
String
Support |
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The front-end is the HTML presentation
layer and the backend is the open-source MySQL database. PHP
is the business logic control unit layer, which is the middleware
used to control the request-response functionality. The PHP
business logic control unit includes the PHP extension “mbstring”
for multi-byte string support. Multi-byte string enables Groupware Manager* to support Japanese characters and alphabets. In addition,
Groupware Manager* employs the IMAP extension for supporting
a Web based e-mail client, used to access the POP3 server.
We developed Groupware Manager* to be compatible with PCs as
well as mobile phones, providing similar level of security and
interoperability. Groupware Manager* can be accessed using ‘Net-ready’
mobile phones like i-mode, jphone, WAP and EZWeb. These phones
are developed exclusively for users in Japan only. Groupware Manager* can be easily deployed within disparate operating system
environments like Windows, Linux, Sun Solaris and Mac using
Web servers such as, Apache, IIS or Xtami.
Groupware Manager* comprises of two modules – Administrator
and User. The administrator creates users, assigns rights and
privileges to each user, and manages the overall activities
performed by users, who work on the Groupware Manager* user module.
The User module provides tools that allow users to:
Schedule
Tasks
Track & Manage projects
Store Contact Information
Manage Files & Folders
Setup To-Do Lists for Personal Use and for Others
Save
Useful Weblinks
Setup Bulletin Boards and Conduct Polls
Create Forms & Questionnaires for Defining Workflows
The modules available in the Groupware Manager* user and administrator
interfaces are: |
| User
Interface |
Administrator
Interface |
| Scheduler |
Holiday Manager |
| Project Management |
Facility Manager
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| Address Book |
Address Book Manager |
| Mail |
Message Manager |
| Private Groups |
User Manager |
| Workflow |
Templates Manager |
| To Do List |
Rights Manager |
| Weblinks |
Weblink Manager |
| Whereabouts |
Whereabouts Manager
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| Announcement |
Announcement Manager |
| BBS |
BBS Manager |
| File Manager |
File Manager |
| Polls |
Poll Manager |
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Summary
Enterprise computing is a concept that is increasingly
gaining the attention of top managements for managing business-critical
operations. The idea is to exploit technology to develop an
integrated repository of proven business value. Groupware Manager*
has been developed with precisely these considerations &
parameters. The concept and design of Groupware Manager* has
been directed to allow medium and lower level managers to supervise,
monitor, and coordinate day-to-day operations of enterprises
along with secure and seamless data access of multiple platforms.
Streamlining organizational procedures, Groupware Manager* ensures
the technical edge that enterprises require to administer tasks
proactively without incurring extra costs for managing internal
operations.
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