Microsoft Updates Solution For Intranets

Microsoft Solution for Intranets 1.5, available starting Monday, adds Microsoft Producer, which easily posts PowerPoint slides complete with multimedia flourishes to intranet sites. It also boasts tighter integration with Content Management Server 2002 and embeds the Microsoft .Net framework, said Nancy Jensen, SharePoint group product manager. The first release shipped last year.

The software bundle includes Sharepoint Portal Server, SharePoint Team Services, Office and Windows Media integration along with "glue code" to integrate them, Microsoft said.

The software clearly is intended to build on the success of Microsoft SharePoint server, which is now commonly deployed by departments within corporate firewalls. Microsoft claims to have sold 10 million seats of the portal since it first shipped a year and a half ago.

For companies wanting to extend group workspaces beyond corporate boundaries, Groove Networks is adding integration with SharePoint Team services to Groove 2.5, slated for availability within a month. The Groove component enables workgroup members to work offline and replicate changes back to the workspace. They also can connect across firewalls securely to work with colleagues and partners at other companies, said Matt Howard, vice president of business development at Groove, Beverly, Mass.

Integrators said this is an important point.

"SharePoint is good for small user groups to build collaborative spaces and is good for intranet use but for people outside the intranet, Groove extends the collaborative capability," said TaraGay Walsh, consultant with EDS, in Troy, Mich.

Microsoft owns a $51 million stake in Groove. Groove Workspace for MSI 1.5 will be marketed by both companies.