To Come From Microsoft: GroovePoint? Share-roove? What?

Later today, Microsoft is expected to sketch in some of its long-touted software-as-a-service game plan.

Most expect this to be some sort of easy to provision/deploy host-able collaboration app. Something that would give itty bitty, IT-less companies good, reliable e-mail, shared calendars and tasks, what-have-you.

Whether that is the news hook or not, one question remains about the expected array of collaboration services: Will the foundation be Microsoft's own SharePoint or Groove Networks' technology? Or some conglomeration of both?

Microsoft bought the remainder of Groove and its technology last year and has made general statements about Groove Virtual Office being incorporated into the Microsoft Office lineup, but not much beyond that.

There are many questions surrounding SharePoint's future. Full Sharepoint capabilities are now delivered via SharePoint Portal Server, which sells briskly and contributes to the bottom line. A more limited set shows up in Windows SharePoint Services which is widely distributed via the operating system but from which the company does not derive additional dollars.

The company has said that more of SharePoint's foundation, including upcoming workflow services, will pervade still other products and services. But will that future "Sharepointy-ness" incorporate Groove technology? Given that collaboration is a key to a host of future services, and given that Groove founder Ray Ozzie is driving the software as a service push, one could hazard a pretty good guess.