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This issue tracking software is for used for project development and allows participants to collaborate on a variety of projects, such as tracking fixes waiting for QA or urgent issues, ideally suited to software developers through a customer support application. [1] The simple user interface allows large and small groups to quickly create efficient workflows and automatically organize specific tasks by creating, assigning, tagging and resolving project issues. The insertion of milestones helps to plan features and establish release dates and agreed deadlines and the ability to share documents and images directly to tickets, so anyone within the project team can find them. As a customer relationship management tool, Lighthouse is efficient at managing a company's interactions with its clients and involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize business processes, which are essential within sales, marketing, customer service, and technical support by creating time-saving functionality.[2] As a case study Croogo [3] is a free, open source, content management system powered by CakePHP framework, and distributed under the MIT License. And uses lighthouse to create and reply to tickets and review the status of all projects in a simple overview that can be followed along with feeds, creating exceptional user support , as participants can create new Lighthouse tickets directly from Tender [4], Lighthouses specialized customer support service. To reduce the costs of planning and implementing software initiatives and increase the support from user base, enterprises are required to automate processes according to best practices. Using Lighthouse's email integration team members can utilize email to reply to tickets directly from inbox and as it is a web based application, it means that support can access critical information on the move, such as using the iPhone optimized interface, manage tickets through the email system, or subscribe to pro

References: [1] Lighthouse http://lighthouseapp.com/ [2] Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_relationship_management [3] Croogo PHP http://bakery.cakephp.org/articles/view/introducing-croogo-cms [4] Tender http://tenderapp.com/ [5]Neath, K. (2007) "Lighthouse: The bug tracker you've been looking for" retrieved on 11th April 2010 from: http://warpspire.com/tipsresources/web-publishing/lighthouse-the-bug-tracker-youve-been-looking-for/

"Communication, Collaboration, and Bugs: The Social Nature of Issue Tracking in Software Engineering" (Bertram, Voida, Greenberg, & Walker, 2010) This article, written by the Department of Computer Science, University of Calgary, is a qualitative study of a group of software development teams that make use of one or more formal issue tracking systems and examines the social aspects that reside within the software engineering and bug tracking process. They argue that an issue tracker is not just a system for tracking bugs but becomes a focal point for all stakeholders of the program including engineers, users, designers and owners. The collaborative knowledge and shared journey of tracking bugs and designing software is a social process as much as it is a design process and the tracking system should be able to facilitate and archive the exchange of information and ideas. From the study of up to 15 participants spread across 4 North American software teams they were able to articulate various real world practices for examining issue and bug tracking software. The paper enunciates the main features of an issue tracking system and what the main considerations should be when designing or implementing one. References Bertram, D., Voida, A., Greenberg, S., & Walker, R. (2010). Communication, Collaboration, and Bugs: The. Retrieved April 16, 2010, from DSpace: http://dspace.ucalgary.ca/bitstream/1880/47309/3/2009-IssueTracking.Report2009-933-12.pdf

Burst SMS is a pay as you use web based instant messaging service that is marketed as a 'private label SMS marketing tool' for responsible mobile marketing and advertising [1]. The service can be accessed remotely from any external online source and offers instant messaging facility in both single and multiple SMS sending modes, to just about anywhere in the world [2]. It is a system that can be rebranded to fit any companies profile and is touted as being wholly SPAM compliant with a built in industry compliant opt-out system [3]. The system has the following features: · Web based SMS delivery to one or many recipients · Cheap SMS rates - within Australia 8.8 cents per SMS. Elsewhere in the world 7.2 - 15.8 cents per SMS. · Marketing application - offers up to 250 SMS messages per minute, within 10 seconds. Includes an opt-out code. · Delivers reports · SMS reseller offering, with a white label web SMS system · Provides quick and easy communication within a business - facilitates team communication. · Unlimited number of contacts · Use of a keyboard to send messages rather than a predictive text pad. · Personalise text messaging to multiple contacts by using the [firstname] variable [4]. · Sits as a bookmark in your toolbar - no login required · Multiple personalising features - schedule reminders, favourites list, use personal mobile number identifier to elicit a response. · Sends out updates, alerts, reminders, promotional messages, confirmations etc. · Sends pictures, video's and audio. The value of using such a system for collaborative purposes is found in its ability to contact, and send personalised messages to, multiple people at one time in order to relay updates, new ideas, and changes in schedules simply and effectively, which saves time, money and concern [5].

References for BurstSMS: [1] CrunchBase (2008) Burst sms. Retrieved on 13th April 2010 from http://www.crunchbase.com/company/burst-sms [2] BurstSMS (2010) Web SMS Service. Retrieved on 11th April 2010 from http://burstsms.com/home [3] MobileMarketing Magazine (2010) Burst SMS Offers Opt-out Advice. Retrieved on 13th April 2010 from http://www.mobilemarketingmagazine.co.uk/2010/01/burst-sms-offers-optout-advice.html [4] BurstSMS blog (2010) 10 ways the Burst Web SMS Bookmarklet can make your text messaging life easier. Retrieved on 13th April 2010 from http://blog.burstsms.com/10-ways-the-burstsms-bookmarklet-can-make-you [5] MattE (2010) How a school kept parents happy using SMS. Retrieved on 13th April 2010 from http://www.plusone.com.au/diary/2010/03/17/how-a-school-kept-parents-happy-using-sms/

Microsoft Office Communicator (OC) is the replacement for Microsoft's previous instant messaging client, Windows Messenger. OC has been expanded to incorporate a larger range of communication capabilities than its predecessor. OC is a unified communications tool that integrates instant messaging and chat with voice and video, and enables sharing of desktops for collaborative work. It also integrates with Microsoft Office programs [1]. The software can be extended into the enterprise environment by linking in with Microsoft Office Communications Server (OCS) and many mobile devices support instant messaging functionality through OC, for example, the popular Blackberry devices [2]. To get the most out of OC, IP phones should be utilised along with web cams; there are a range of IP phones to choose from [3]. OC has received praise over their VoIP services [4] and have conducted a large amount of research and development into their proprietary IP phone [5]. A disadvantage of any VoIP service is the absolute dependence on network availability - without LAN service, the IP phones do not work. OC runs in real time and does not require a virtual private network (VPN), allowing you access through internet-enabled devices or PCs [6]. This constitutes a significant cost saving, particularly if your company conducts business via long distance teleconferencing or videoconferencing services. Essentially, OC is a method of "streamlining" all communication needs into one integrated application [6]. This can prove useful for team collaboration and online meetings particularly for members who are geographically separate. Other business benefits include the Presence feature and a comprehensive audit history. Presence allows you to quickly see if someone is out of the office, on a call, or otherwise busy. This feature works off Outlook calendars and IP phone status and is similar to the statuses of Windows Messenger denoting "away", "busy" etc and has the

added benefit of integrating directly with Outlook (e.g. if you create a new email message, there will be a presence indicator next to the recipients' name(s))[7]. For auditing purposes, all communication history is recorded in the form of audit logs of calls and IM sessions. This is important for appropriate recordkeeping of business records. References [1] Microsoft. (2010). Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 R2 Product Overview. Retrieved April 10, 2010, from http://office.microsoft.com/en-au/communicator/HA102037151033.aspx [2] Blackberry. (2010). BlackBerry Instant Messaging for Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2005. Retrieved April 10, 2010, from http://na.blackberry.com/eng/services/server/exchange/office_communicator.jsp [3] Microsoft. (2010). Phones and Devices Optimized for Microsoft Office Communicator. Retrieved April 10, 2010, from http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/office/ocs/bb970310.aspx [4] Poe, R. (2007). Microsoft's Office Communicator Blows Away IP Phones. VoIP-News. Retrieved April 10, 2010, from http://www.voip-news.com/feature/microsoft-voip-high-grade-030807/ [5] Microsoft. (2010). Device Highlight: Polycom® CX300. Office Communicator Team Blog. Retrieved April 10, 2010, from http://communicatorteam.com/archive/2010/03/03/978.aspx [6] Microsoft. (2010). Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 Datasheet. Retrieved April 10, 2010, from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=6306ae9c-6ede-4908-800f-256a75bebc75&displaylang=en [7] Howorth, R. (2007). Office Communicator 2007. ZDNet.co.uk. Retrieved April 10, 2010, from http://www.zdnet.co.uk/reviews/communication-and-collaboration/2007/10/16/office-communicator-2007-39290042/

TinyChat is a web-based audio and video communication platform. It enables users to create group video chats or one-to-one (p2p) private video chats. With the group chats disposable or permanent rooms can be created with a simple URL for up to 400 participants and 12 live video streams. For the p2p video chat no sign up is necessary. It is secure and when the two people go to the same URL they are connected automatically and the call begins [1]. It doesn't require any downloads or plug-in's, and works on any browser and operating system [2]. TinyChat is a very social tool and can be connected with Facebook [4]. Now it has recently integrated with YouTube [5] for videos, Etherpad [6] for document collaboration and Flockdraw[7] for whiteboard features [2]. With YouTube, the administrator of the chat controls where to start, pause and end the video. Integrating Etherpad into a chat is simple and everyone in the chat can discuss a particular document while using Etherpads features as well as TinyChats. The document can also be saved and reopened in future video chats. Flockdraws whiteboard feature is similar to using Etherpad, but rather than using a document you can draw, paint, erase and write. With all these collaborative features TinyChat could become essential for any business that is spread globally [3]. [1] TinyChat. (2010). TinyChat. Retrieved April 16, 2010, from http://tinychat.com/about.html [2] Crunchbase. (2010). TinyChat. Retrieved 16 April, 2010, from http://www.crunchbase.com/company/tinychat [3] Rao, L. (2010). TinyChat Upgrade brings Etherpad, Whiteboard and YouTube Intergrations. Retreived 16 April, 2010, from http://techcrunch.com/2010/02/05/ti

Virtual servers, Cloud computing and Software-as-a-service,(SaaS), are all pioneering new innovative value-adding utilities. Gmail, Hotmail, YouTube, are a few SaaS tools already known to most people, but now the Internet is exploding with collaborative services and applications. With peer pressure from Google's Google docs and other web-based software developers, giant software companies like Microsoft, Adobe, SAP etc are all launching into web-based applications. [1] Microsoft's (Light) Office app will be available for free with Office 2010.[2] Even hardware technology are pointing to "slim-down" operating systems like netbooks that have little data storage capabilities, no moving parts and only connects and rely on the internet [1] CRM, Customer Relations Management and ERP; Enterprise Resource Planning are the most popular applications that companies are taking up as web-collaborative applications. ***Now Engineering design are available in the cloud. SolidWorks CEO, Jeff Ray says the one prevailing advantage to all customers is cost. [4]

[1] Patrick Stafford 2009 How cloud computing could change your business and save you thousands. Retrieved on 4/4/2010 from:http://www.smartcompany.com.au/ [2] Lia Timson 2010 Word, Excel, Powerpoint-free on the web. Retrieved 4/4/2010 from: http://www.watoday.com.au/technology/ [3]SolidWorks website. Retrieved on 4/4/2010 from: http://www.solidworks.com/sw/products/free-cad-software-downloads.htm [4] Johnson, A. 2010. CAD moves to the clouds. Retrieved on 4/4/2010 from:http://www.manmonthly.com.au/Article/CAD-moves-to-the-clouds/514146.aspx

SolidWorks offers improved collaboration between CAD team members as they can share designs with one another and external partners. Another important feature is the SolidWorks User Group Network (SWUGN) [1]. The SolidWorks User Group Network is arrange geographically and offers users a valuable resource, the ability to network with local peers and partners helping businesses become more productive. It also connects global users, assisting them with improved understanding of SolidWorks features and SolidWorks related products. Users are able to network with peers to share experiences and technical queries and methodologies. [1] SolidWorks User Network Group, available from: http://www.swugn.org/swugn/benefits.htm