1. INTRODUCTION
Groupware is technology designed to be used by groups of people for sharing information. Groupware applications are becoming more and more popular now.
Groupware is an environment where all users can share their documents. It is a platform where they can perform daily task of communicating, collaborating and coordinating with others. It automates business processes by using workflow management and collaborated computing techniques.
Groupware applications like e-mail, workflow systems, group calendars, chat systems, decision support system are easy but very powerful.
As Groupware is advantageous over single user system, it has high demand and many companies are specializing in developing Groupware based applications.


2. WHAT IS GROUPWARE?
Groupware is technology designed to facilitate the work of groups. This technology may be used to communicate, cooperate, coordinate, solve problems, compete, or negotiate. While traditional technologies like the telephone qualify as groupware, the term is ordinarily used to refer to a specific class of technologies relying on modern computer networks, such as email, newsgroups, videophones, or chat.
Groupware technologies are typically categorized along two primary dimensions:
1. Whether users of the groupware are working together at the same time ("realtime" or "synchronous" groupware) or different times ("asynchronous" groupware), and
2. Whether users are working together in the same place ("colocated" or "face-to-face") or in different places ("non-colocated" or "distance").
Same time
?Synchronous? Different time
?Asynchronous?
Same Place
?Colocated? Voting, presentation support Shared computers
Different Place
?Distance? Videophones, chat Email, workflow