Collaboration software has made life easier and simple for today’s professionals, who are either working individually or as a team. Just imagine: instead of taking the long route, best collaboration software tools have simplified work systems, so that it’s now possible for people to brainstorm or exchange data even while mobile or in a remote location.
Among the other notable benefits of collaboration are:
- simplifying tasks in an organisation
- managing projects and their schedule
- problem solving
- enabling workflow systems
But have you ever wondered how life was before web based collaboration software? The vision of people using computers to collaborate with one another started as early as the 1940s. In 1945, author Vannevar Bush foretold the invention of the personal computer and he called it “memex”.
In his article, Bush wrote:
“A memex is a device in which an individual stores all his books, records, and communications, and which is mechanized, so that it may be consulted with exceeding speed and flexibility. It is an enlarged supplement to his memory.”
It wasn’t until the 1960s when the idea of using the computer to collaborate online was mentioned again. In 1968, Dr. J.C. R. Licklider, head of the U.S. Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), wrote in an article, “The Computer as a Communication Device:”
“There has to be some way of facilitating communication among people without bringing them together in one place.”
It was during Licklider’s term at the ARPA that led to ARPANET, commercial time-sharing systems and, eventually, the Internet.
With the birth of the manual typewriter, office automation became a byword in the 1970’s. Along with it came the Electronic Information Exchange System (EIES) where the first underpinnings of collaborative software were seen. Innovations like surveys, threaded replies, and a group-structured approach were started
It was not until the 1980s that ‘groupware’ came into being. Educator C.A. ‘Skip’ Ellis referred to it as “computer-based systems that support groups of people engaged in a common task (or goal) and that provide an interface to a shared environment.”
In 1986, the phrase Computer-Supported Collaborative Work (CSCW) came out. Brian Wilson defined it as “a generic term which combines the understanding of the way people work in groups with the enabling technologies of computer networking, and associated hardware, software, services, and techniques.”
The 1990s gave way to groupware again with the release of Lotus Notes, Microsoft Exchange Server and Outlook. It was also in this decade that the term “social software” was first heard, evolving further into the next millenium when a Social Software Summit was held in 2002.
Social software is otherwise defined as “software that supports group interaction.” With the rise of Web 2.0 came cloud hosted Internet-based apps that enabled more collaboration, formation of online communities, and other means of good interaction.
Judging from this chronological history, collaboration software can be said to have evolved out of groupware and CSCW. Since further developments in collaboration software will hinge on further advances in the Internet, communication modes, and software design, we can only expect the best in collaboration software is yet to come. If you’re considering using collaboration tools, check our five tips on how to choose the best collaborative software. Note, too, that some software products are industry-specific; such as, educators have their own type of collaborative software.
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