ERoom Digital Workplace was a good space to hang out in when we first tested it (see "Far-Flung Firms Will Find eRoom's Workspace a Comfortable Place to Meet"). Now, with the addition of a real-time server to supplement eRoom's asynchronous features, we like it even better.
Like SiteScape Enterprise Forum 6.0 and ShareHQ Secure Workspaces 1.0, eRoom can be self-hosted, or you can subscribe to an ASP model and let someone else worry about running the hardware and software. ERoom's ASP service is hosted by USinternetworking (USi) in a secure facility that is monitored around the clock. USi provides redundant routers, switches and firewalls; automated nightly backup; battery and diesel-generated power backup; physically diverse OC-12 SONET local-loop access; and co-carrier frame relay and ATM backbone connections to other data centers. In addition, eRoom guarantees 99 percent uptime through its ASP service. Connections are encrypted via SSL (Secure Sockets Layer). But if you're worried about signing an ASP contract and trusting someone else with your content, you should host your own eRoom.
ERoom is the features champ among the products we tested. It has the fullest slate of both asynchronous and real-time facilities. On the asynchronous side, eRoom supplies team calendars, customizable databases, drag-and-drop file sharing, document version control with check-in and checkout capabilities, multithreaded discussions, polling, change notification, content indexing and searching, and approval routing. And eRoom hasn't just thrown features into the product without rhyme or reason. These features work well, and each is a useful collaborative tool that is missed in packages that don't include the same capability.
To achieve such functionality, eRoom made two sacrifices to the computing gods: Its products are tied tightly to Microsoft products -- both Internet Information Server (IIS) and Internet Explorer (IE) -- and eRoom works best when users install an IE plug-in. On the plus side, integration with Microsoft products means that eRoom calendar items and tasks synchronize seamlessly with Outlook, and eRoom's document-collaboration features are well-integrated into Microsoft Office. If ties to Microsoft don't create a barrier to internal product acceptance, read on. ERoom may be the digital workplace for you. ERoom supplies SQL Anywhere as its database back end; alternatively, it can use a customer-supplied version of Microsoft's SQL Server version 7 or later.
The newest addition to the eRoom product line is the Real Time Server, an add-on product (meaning there is an additional cost for the server software and for each user) that extends eRoom Server's functionality. When distances prevent you from taking a meeting face to face, eRoom Real Time Server lets you collaborate -- live -- around documents, whiteboards and group chats without hopping on a plane. Real Time Server provides for application sharing and remote desktop control, and lets you capture and index the real-time session to make it an integral part of the eRoom content.
However, the first time we tested these features, we found ourselves fighting for control during application sharing and document collaboration. We'd grab control of an application and mysteriously lose it to one of the other participants without so much as a howdy-do. Fortunately we didn't lose any data, but we quickly decided that when you open application sharing to a group, you need a moderator to keep things sane for all participants.
One real-time feature we missed in eRoom is voice conferencing. As part of this collaboration review, we looked at a dedicated real-time package that included voice conferencing (see "Business Users Aim Higher"). What a difference real-time voice makes to the flow of an online meeting. With eRoom, you can use the telephone to run a conference call during a real-time conference (in fact, we highly recommend it). As we discovered with WiredRed Software's e/pop software, however, it's very convenient to use the computer and Internet connection to handle the voice traffic as well.
All the testers agreed that eRoom's interface is well-designed and intuitive. This is not to say that training isn't necessary -- all the products we tested require user training -- but the learning curve isn't too steep. Right-click, context-sensitive menus give you the feeling that you're using an actual application rather than a browser. The left frame in the browser window is for navigation and access to commands; the right frame displays content. Microsoft Windows users have come to expect such an arrangement from messaging applications.
Can we nitpick for a minute? ERoom does not tie tasks to the calendar automatically. (That's one of our beefs with Outlook, too.) How tough could it be to put a task deadline on the calendar? Also, to check off a task you've finished, you need to edit the item. It would be cleaner to provide a check box on the task list to mark a task complete.
One more thing worth mentioning: ERoom supports offline reading if you use IE 5 or later. You can download the contents of an eRoom before you disconnect from the network and can read items while you're not online. The limitations with this feature are significant, however. First, you can't use it if you're using SSL, which we highly recommend for security. Second, this isn't synchronization, which would be very useful. Since you'll probably be using the plug-in anyway, it would be helpful for eRoom to build offline synchronization capabilities into the plug-in.
The plug-in does provide Windows users with better change-tracking facilities via a small application that runs on your task bar, file and folder drag and drop between your desktop and your eRoom, Microsoft Office integration that lets you reserve a file for offline editing, and access to instant messages. We recommend that you use the plug-in software -- and Microsoft Windows -- if you implement eRoom.
eRoom Digital Workplace 5.4, $9,995 and $199 per client; eRoom Real Time Server 5.4, $7,500 and $150 per client. eRoom Technology, (617) 497-6300; fax (617) 497-5055. www.eroom.com
REPORTS
ANALYTICS
Follow 
