Virtual teams, what are they and how they differ from conventional one?

You may love it or not, but globalization has changed our lifes forever! And it's not only our private life that was greatly affected by it, since today we have much greater freedom of choice then our ancestors and can decide where we want to live and work independently of the place we were born, but globalization has also significantly altered working and communication patterns of today.

You no longer have to be present at your working place to be able to work on company's assignments or communicate to your co-workers. On one hand greater work flexibility is very benificial of course, since at helps to save tremendous travelling costs and allows organization of today to draw in talanted people from all around the world considerably leveraging intellectual capital of the enterprise, but on the other hand it has its own hidden threats which one has to identify if he wants be successful in managing virtual teams and attain desired efficiency from them.

Firtsly, one has to understand psychology behind virtual teams and that although they are very similar to conventional one and mostly have the same features as the last one, there are some piculiar characteristic they possess that are not typical for traditional teams. Simply putting: virtual teams are much more complex in their essence then conventional teams since:

1) They exposed to cross boundaries barriers such as time zones, different culture and working habits

2) They use electronic communication technological means to communicate (share info) and collaborate (work together to produce a product)

Well although cultural differences and territorial remoteness play of course very important role in groups' performance and effectiveness, finding the right communication tools can be quite crucial for the group success as well.

''How team members will communicate? What collaboration softwares they will use and how the last one will contribute to the team effectiveness ?'' are the first questions every virtual team leader should bring up for himself in the first place.

And here of course in the first place come such software features as simplicity and security, since every organization wants that its internal data exchange stayed safe and only people who work on certain project had access to the data whereas not spending too much time and money on employee training teaching them to use new collaboration tool.

That's why in most cases success of virtual teams highly depends on the choice of collaboration software.
Well, there are plenty of communication tools virtual teams may decide upon, such as e-mail, live messanger, video conferencing or file sharing and all of them useful and good in certain way... but the question is: could they one at a time or even all combined together provide desired outcome, and namely synchronize work of people separated by time, distance and culture and enhance their productivity???
As a student who loves to travel a lot and due to it sometimes has to work with my team members distantly on Uni assignments and as a 'remote' manager of IT company I have at home and which I had to leave and manage only distantly while my study abroad, I may say that all above mentioned communication tools are only partially solve cooperation problems virtual teams may encounter.
That's why when I first learned a year ago about TeamDrive software offered by PrimeSharing I was really excited to try it, since program was free of charge and provided vast opportunities for fast and secure data exchange. Moreover, software helped me to solve so long sought-after 'variation problem' that was bottom of so many disputes and inefficiency in team work I had in the past. I do believe that such collaboration softwares as TeamDrive or Collanos' Workplace may change the way virtual teams communicate and help managers to attain desired efficieny and cohesion in distant groups performance.

IT industry highlights

''Can software industry survive, if people will use only Open Sources?''

This was the most burning question at Californian Software Development Conference raised by Microsoft Manager Jim Gray, who believes that future survival of software industry is hardly possible if users will be able to get all softwares free of charge.

Long since already tried Microsoft to carry to the general public dubiety of 'open source' concept, since although on one hand the idea of free sources sounds very good and generous at a first glance as it gives people a chance to get softwares for free, what means greater access to shared knowledge (which is especially important for developing countries with poorer population then for better-off industrialized countries) on the other hand at closer examination free source concept is similar to cancerous growth, as it spreads around as quickly and widely as cancer and strikes people's minds so deeply that they are not able and willing afterwards to pay for a software,which means slow and certain death for software development industry, since non of the business may survive in a long-term without generating any profits. So the dilemma we are coming up with: does software developers have to think about mankind's well-being and prosperity, or do theiy have to be concerned with their own survival in competative environment???

Some reading for brooding over

Often times when I was sending my e-mails some disturbing thoughts like: ''where my data goes? who will read it before it reachs recipient? how data transmission mechanism is working and to what extent I may feel protected?'' were rushing past my head....
Well, may look strange, taking into consideration that I'm just student and don't exchange any valuable or secret information that requires high confidentiality. But that's just the way people are. We all care abou things that concern us and what can be more concerning then our private exchange? :)
Moreover, not even IT savvy people know that although e-mails are so convenient and easy to use, they don't offer desired security, while all data we send is transfered in non-encrypted format.
Scary isn't it that virtually everyone can have access to the data we are sending ?
Hmmm... may be not that eerie for private individuals like me,who mostly exchange personal info, music and pictures, but definitly uncanny for big companies that my bear considerable losses from indastrial espionage.
Here is links to some articles, I found interesting to read:
http://whitepapers.zdnet.com/whitepaper.aspx?&compid=4946&docid=308445
http://whitepapers.zdnet.com/abstract.aspx?docid=310274&promo=100503

What collaboration tools secret services are using??

Bon ben, to be honest, I was always interested in Secret services and how they are working. Well, probably all this extreme interest was just casted over me by all those American movies about Super Agents saving world from extraneous invasions (and may be I even dreamed of becoming one of them :)) , hard to say :P... but what is for sure, interest is still here and what's interest me today is how agents are communicate with each other and their authorities and how they transfer ''Super secret Info''?

What kind of collaboration software are they using and how reliable they are?

Do they have their own programmers who write 'unique' softwares that they keep for themselves and never share with other organizations due to high security reasons or do they purchase ready programs from OEMs?

Some thoughts about future business forms

I always wondered how fickle business world is and how quickly working patterns are changing...
Only 20 years ago people didn't hear about Internet and our grandparents have to write long letters (that took ages to be delivered!!!) using fountain-pen in order to stay in touch with their friends and family members, whereas nowadays already every kid knows how to use msn or ICQ and can Skype that makes communication with people from remote parts of the planet possible at a mouseclick.
Fascinating, isn't it??? :P
But do actually technological progress brings more benefits then threats and does it really help businesses to encrease their productivity???
Well, hard question to asnwer :)
But one can not deny that internet has bought us a lot of opportunities and showed some unexplored ways of communication. For example such form of working as telecommuting that allows great flexibilty and wise resource utilization, since it not only gives a chance for the companies to employ otherwise not available employees, but also solves such problems as absenteeism, minimization of daily commuting cost and individual's carbon footprint.
But, does these new work forms are really improve productivity of the companies and can substitute old and approved one ???
Well, to some extent definitly 'YES', but only if they would fulfil requirements managers of today have. Such as: reduced costs, improved efficiency and employee communication.
Hence question to be answered is how to do it?
Firstly of course, e-working and telecommuting requires quite new management style, that is based on mutual trust between employee and employer and not on direct supervision as it was in the past. Therefore, results are more improtant then close scrutiny of individual workers.
New working patterns produce chain effect and entail demand for new communication tools that will facilitate such managment style. Usually, long distance telework include such tools as virtual private networks, videoconferencing, and Voice over IP. But with all advanteges they bring in terms of rapidity of exchange, scrupulos manager could not ask onself a question: ''How actually secure these means of communication? and How my data is protected from other internet users?''
Well, many companies offering collaboration softwares today already tried to answer these questions and started to offer their customers networking tools that make data transfer safe and easy.
Up today market leaders in this sphere were: Collanos with it Workplace software (http://www.collanos.com/), Microsoft offering Groove software (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/groove/FX100487641033.aspx) and PrimeSharing that offers TeamDrive (http://www.teamdrive.de/)

How TeamDrive works

Whenever I get to know any new product, it's always interesting for me to find out what's behind it ??? I mean to look 'behind the scenes' and understand how it works.
You may call it female curiosity, impatience of the mind or just inquisitiveness :) , but whatever it is, it's always there and it depraves me of sleep till I'll find answer to the questions I have. The same story was of course with TeamDrive :P
At the very beginning, when I just got to know this software, I didn't have a lot of questions :( ( I was mainly using it and enjoying the benefits it gave me), but the more I used it and loved it, the more I wanted to descry the actual mechanism of data transfer.
Here is what I found out and would love to share with other people:

How TeamDrive works or glance behind scenes of collaboration software:

TeamDrive is a program that enables peer to peer commuinication and helps effortlessly manage multi-member projects, since it offers security and efficiency in electronic collaboration.
The main idea behind this software is transmission as well as storage of data on the webhost in encrypted form, what makes your data inaccessible for other internet users and supports workflow systems that require continuous network connection. TeamDrive is easy to install and use, while it can be downloaded at a mouse click and perfectly blends in with existing applications, so that you do not have to change your working patterns or get extra training to learn how to handle the program. Besides, you (as a user) may decide for yourself whom to invite into your shared space staying in a full control of the communication process and being sure that only entrusted members of community have access to your data.


Below is a model that explains features of the software in more detail:





To start using the software, you may download it from the company website, where it's available in 2 versions: Basic, which is free of charge and Premium one, which you can get for a small fee and that provides you additional features and mostly suitable for corporate clients, whereas private users may be quite content with basic one.


Upon software installation you are given shared space where you can invite people with whom you want to exchange information. Program has synchronization mechanism that allows you to integrate changes with other peers in your space. Synchronization is done through hosted depot using transmission mechanism. Moreover, all peers are registered by a server that allows them to communicate despite IP addresses.









TeamDrive is compitable with all latest Windows versions starting with 2000 as well as Vista what allows you to use the software without a need to change your working habits !!!

How I get to know about TeamDrive

Once upon a time (or namely in the year 2006) or to be more precise in golden autumn I was visiting one nice gothic University in Germany - European Business School in Oestrich-Winkel where during Symposium event I get to know ''PrimeSharing'' - company that won price for innovation in Europe this year. Product that won this price was TeamDrive software, which was recognized as tool N1 for secure and fast data transfer.

The idea behind TeamDrive was to help people exchange data in a safe and easy way, since in order to be able to use this software you don't have to be IT profi or learn a lot to get to know how to handle it. Files sharing with TeamDrive looked like no hustle at all, at the same time offering users desired security of transfer.
Moreover, being able to solve ''variation explosion'' problem so crucial for team working (when no one knows anymore who and when made last changes and how to come back to deleted items), software was a good solution for group assignments. TeamDrive made data and all updates to it available not only in on-line status, but even off-line, at the same time keeping full privacy of your exchange by limiting access to only entrusted space members.
Not bad, isn't it ???? :)
That's why learning about software I was excited to try it for myself and find out how efficient program was in reality.
Well, the first thing I've done returning home was installing TeamDrive on my PC and inviting some friends to my shared space.
Hmmm....
Firstly I didn't realize any advantages of software installation, since I haven't much to exchange :(...
But when University started and I had to go to London, it's when all changed and I started to realize benefits of the installed program and got even double benefit:
1) I could effortlessly send any big picture files (displaying my UK adventures :P) home to my parents using TeamDrive software
2) While working on group project in Business Strategy module, software helped us to synchronize our work and avoid any unnecessary hustle of running all the time from one PC lab to another with USB memory sticks showing latest changes each of us did to the project. So that our efficiency was considerably improved, while nerve cells considerably preserved :P

So it's actually how my acquaintance with TeamDrive and PrimeSharing started :)
If you are interested to learning more about this handy program, you can visit their website for yourself:
http://www.teamdrive.de/

P.S. Don't be scared, discription of the product is available in both german and english language !!! :)