Defining Online Collaboration: More Than Just Technology

The META Group "defines collaboration as social skills, relationships, and practices, along with technology services, that improve how people work jointly and substantially together (sharing responsibility and risk) - to communicate needs, coordinate activities, share information, exchange know-how, build community, or achieve a common (team) objective (typically related to a process or project) within/across organizational boundaries. The core technology manifest includes e-mail, discussion forums, group calendar and scheduling, instant messaging and presence, Web conferencing, and teamware. Solutions must span hardware, software, networking, and workplace facilities, however, to ensure alignment with user work and lifestyle needs."