Microsoft Groove jumps onto SharePoint bandwagon

In a belated move, Microsoft Corp. plans to turn the Groove collaboration software it acquired in 2005 -- along with its now-chief software architect Ray Ozzie -- into its main application for workers to access content stored on SharePoint servers, even while offline.

Groove will be renamed SharePoint Workplace and will be released in the first half of next year as part of Office 2010.

"SharePoint Workspace 2010 will enable a whole new set of scenarios that [will] help customers be more productive with Office and SharePoint through a more seamless online/offline experience," a Microsoft spokeswoman wrote via e-mail today. "SharePoint Workspace will enable users to take SharePoint sites offline and work with the content on people's desktops whether or not they are connected."

Linking the overshadowed Groove to the fast-growing SharePoint platform is a good move, said Robert Helm, an analyst with the independent Directions on Microsoft.

Microsoft said in March 2008 that it had sold 100 million licenses of SharePoint and pulled in more than $1 billion in related revenue.

That momentum "has Microsoft and everyone else rethinking how Groove should fit into SharePoint's world," Helm said.

While SharePoint still lags its Web 2.0 counterparts in features, its free-to-start price, tie-in with other Office software and greater potential for reliability over cheaper SaaS offerings such as Google Docs or Zoho has helped it take off, said Chris Le Tocq, an analyst with Guernsey Research.

"If you need five 9s (99.999%) uptime, you need to spend a little money," Le Tocq said.

Microsoft also plans to include SharePoint Workspace and OneNote in the Professional Plus suite in Office 2010. Groove and OneNote, a digital note-taking app, are today available only to buyers of Office's two most complete, and priciest, versions: Office Enterprise 2007 and Office Ultimate 2007.

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