IMPORTANT:-Due to a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) with *Our Client, the names of the solution and the client have been changed. All changed names have been prefixed with an asterisk (*).
*Groupware Manager-Integrated Suite of Web based applications

*Our Client., planned to develop a groupware of Web enabled applications for information and knowledge sharing between workgroups. Its intended targets were medium & large sized organizations. *Our Client required a comprehensive enterprise computing solution, providing multi-platform, multi-protocol support. DevelopmentIndia developed Groupware Manager for *Our Client., to provide enterprises with high-end tracking and management capabilities, along with the ability to synchronize and manage activities for mobile workers. As an integrated groupware, Groupware Manager enables workgroups to reduce project costs, improve staff efficiency, and foster an appropriate change in business culture and profitability.
Customer Profile
A leading IT consulting organization based in Japan, *Our Client., provides consultancy services to organizations in the field of content management, online education systems, broadband, e-commerce and mobile communication.

Business Requirement
To manage operations efficiently, enterprises require coordination of activities, schedules, and knowledge among team members working on various projects. Our Client, recognized this requirement within medium and large sized organizations, where large teams need to coordinate while working on turnkey projects.

Solution

Benefits

 Enhanced monitoring and management of operations
 Fully customizable
 Cross-platform (Mobile Devices/PC) portability, accessibility and support
 Centralized management driven by reliable & high-speed database access
 Multilingual (English/Japanese)
 Integrated e-mail services that provide multiple POP3 access

Technologies Used
 PHP
 HTML
 MySQL
 i-mode
 EZWeb
 WAP
 Jphone
  Windows
 Linux
 Solaris
 Macintosh
 Apache Server
 IIS Server

Requirements
Our Client is a leading IT consultancy services organization based in Tokyo, Japan. The company observed the growing need among medium and large sized enterprises to coordinate and synchronize internal operations among large teams for efficient manageability. The larger the team size greater is the probability of mismanagement and lack of coordination. In its effort to prevent this situation, Our Client. conceived the idea of a groupware that would allow team members and co-workers to manage and schedule tasks, proactively. The solution had to be developed as an integrated Web enabled groupware that could be ported on mobile devices as well as PCs. This would allow enhanced manageability of operations through continuous and global data accessibility. Workgroups would be well informed about the regular tasks that they would need to perform. With increased coordination, managers would be able to track and manage projects effectively, at reduced costs.

With these considerations, Our Client., ventured with Icreon to develop a comprehensive groupware to perform enterprise critical operations. The objective was not only to develop an integrated groupware, but also to make it accessible over multiple platforms.

Enterprise Computing for Effective Manageability of Operations

During the initial stages of the project, we at realized that data was required to be accessible over public channels or the Internet. Consequently, security was a major concern for this project. Besides this, we had to ensure that Groupware Manager* was customizable by end-users to suit their business requirements. For us, the key areas of focus were:

  Seamless and secure data access
 Multi platform support
 Multi lingual and multi terminal support
 Net-ready mobile phones support
 Highly secure & reliable data access
 Customized and user-friendly front-en

After extensive research on the technology alternates, the teams at Icreon and Our Client decided to setup a 3-tier architecture for Groupware Manager* using HTML, PHP and MySQL to retrieve, store and present data.

	Front-End
	Backend		Multi-byte String Support

The front-end is the HTML presentation layer and the backend is the open-source MySQL database. PHP is the business logic control unit layer, which is the middleware used to control the request-response functionality. The PHP business logic control unit includes the PHP extension “mbstring” for multi-byte string support. Multi-byte string enables Groupware Manager* to support Japanese characters and alphabets. In addition, Groupware Manager* employs the IMAP extension for supporting a Web based e-mail client, used to access the POP3 server.

We developed Groupware Manager* to be compatible with PCs as well as mobile phones, providing similar level of security and interoperability. Groupware Manager* can be accessed using ‘Net-ready’ mobile phones like i-mode, jphone, WAP and EZWeb. These phones are developed exclusively for users in Japan only. Groupware Manager* can be easily deployed within disparate operating system environments like Windows, Linux, Sun Solaris and Mac using Web servers such as, Apache, IIS or Xtami.

Groupware Manager* comprises of two modules – Administrator and User. The administrator creates users, assigns rights and privileges to each user, and manages the overall activities performed by users, who work on the Groupware Manager* user module. The User module provides tools that allow users to:

 Schedule Tasks
 Track & Manage projects
 Store Contact Information
 Manage Files & Folders
 Setup To-Do Lists for Personal Use and for Others
 Save Useful Weblinks
 Setup Bulletin Boards and Conduct Polls
 Create Forms & Questionnaires for Defining Workflows

The modules available in the Groupware Manager* user and administrator interfaces are:

User Interface	Administrator Interface
Scheduler	Holiday Manager
Project Management	Facility Manager
Address Book	Address Book Manager
Mail	Message Manager
Private Groups	User Manager
Workflow	Templates Manager
To Do List	Rights Manager
Weblinks	Weblink Manager
Whereabouts	Whereabouts Manager
Announcement	Announcement Manager
BBS	BBS Manager
File Manager	File Manager
Polls	Poll Manager

The front-end is designed using HTML, while MySQL is the backend database for managing data integrity. The PHP Business Logic layer ensures smooth flow of data between the backend and the front-end. In addition, it is integrated with the GD Graphics Library for retrieving & managing images on the front-end. The entire architecture is designed for high compatibility and performance in a distributed environment.