Led by an executive team that includes a lawyer, a doctor, an analyst and an engineer, GroupServe Inc. offers software applications that allow business customers the ability to organize, collaborate and communicate in an electronic group environment.
Based in Washington, D.C., GroupServe introduced its GroupVine service for personal computers last September, and announced the wireless version for Palm, Nokia Communicator and Microsoft Windows CE Pocket Internet Explorer personal digital assistants, and the Qualcomm Inc. pdQ smart phone in December.
GroupVine allows users with Internet-enabled devices to enter discussion forums-which can be run privately, publicly or by invitation-and leave voice and/or text messages, as well as documents for participating group members to access and review.
According to Dr. Theodore Achacoso, a former computational neuroscientist and GroupServe’s president, chief technology officer and co-founder, GroupVine provides “in-time communications.” Users don’t all need to be logged on at the same time for the application to work, unlike real-time chat services.
He said the early adopters in the United States have been business-to-business groups, which also are being targeted by Nextel Communications Inc. for its Direct Connect two-way radio service.
However, “There’s no one doing text and voiceless fax,” Achacoso said. “Nextel is finding that as they roll out their services to the white collar community, the Direct Connect service won’t work for them.”
Nextel Direct Connect is an alternative to cellular phones for business or consumer groups that want to have instant voice access to any or all individuals in a custom talk group.
Right now, Achacoso said the company’s main sales pitch is to carriers, which for GroupServe, also includes Nextel.
“We are trying to close out deals with the carriers to carry the GroupVine service for free. Whatever revenues that we do from ads will be split with the carriers,” said Achacoso, who further explained that if carriers won’t offer the service for free, a monthly charge of about $3 also could cover costs.
GroupServe said it commenced commercial data testing of its GroupVine software for Wireless Application Protocol-enabled phones at the end of January, and in February it introduced a forum to establish a groupware standard.
Known as Groupware Data Exchange, the forum was created to establish a new standard called Groupware Markup Language, which will facilitate data exchange and synchronization among the various groupware applications and their individual counterparts, GroupServe said.
