Novell Inc has released GroupWise WebPublisher, claiming it is the first web-based document management application on the market. An extension to the company’s Groupwise electronic mail and workflow offering (CI No 3,210), the product is designed for the creation and management of documents on the internet and corporate intranets. The software enables users to publish any document created in GroupWise directly to the intranet or web, and is based on technology from Inso Corp’s Outside In HTML conversion application programming interface. Documents are stored in the GroupWise library and are published dynamically to the web via the server whenever they are requested by a user via a search or URL address. The software enables document authors to revise content and access conditions to a particular document and automatically update changes to the web. Novell says displaying documents dynamically in HTML also means they can be saved in native file format. GroupWise, now on version 5.2, is a strong number two behind Lotus Notes in this area of the market, claims Novell, with around 8.5 million users worldwide. That’s ahead of Microsoft Exchange, which has around 2 million installations. GroupWise is intended as an out of the box collaboration tool as opposed to Notes, which Novell regards as a development platform and database replication tool. The latest incarnation features greater support for email standards including POP3, IMAP4 and dial-up SMTP, as well as a Java enabled version of the company’s web client, WebAccess, and enhanced routing capabilities to take messages either in serial or parallel format. GroupWise 5.2 costs $718 for five users. GroupWise WebPublisher is currently available free for download at www.novell.com/groupwise.
