Collaboration versus Conferencing - Where We Are and How We Got Here
Robert L Fehr · 2005 Tampa, FL July 17-20, 2005 · 2005
Over the past 10 years there has been in increased interest in the use ofcollaboration and conferencing tools, where collaboration refers to communicationsbetween individuals at multiple sites and conferencing refers to communicationsbetween groups of individuals at multiple sites. Each type of tool has moved in adifferent direction, collaboration toward proprietary based implementations andconferencing toward standards based implementations. The increased interest is aidedin part by the penetration of higher speed Internet connectivity as well the enhancedprocessing power of workstations. This paper will discuss the fundamental differencesbetween collaboration and conferencing technologies and how they developed indifferent directions including where they are today and where they are heading. The paper will also explore the challenges of the corporate cultural to the expanded useof collaboration/conferencing tools within and between organizations. At the presenttime there is a significant lag between the capabilities of collaboration/conferencingtools and their use even within organizations. While some of this lag is a result of pastexperiences that did not meet the expectations of the users, much of it is based onreasons not related to the technology.