Online Collaboration Bridges Distance Virtually

In years past, the only way architect Martin L. Marquez could show clients how a building design was coming along was to overnight the design, e-mail a multi-megabyte file, or fly to their offices to walk them through the layout.

Now, they log on and collaborate together in real time. Using a service called Glance, Marquez can show clients the largest CAD, or computer-assisted design, files as if they were sitting beside him.

"The obvious advantage is striking a deal in minutes, as opposed to weeks of shipping documents back and forth," said Marquez, CEO of UrbanWorks Inc., a Miami Springs, Fla., architectural firm. "I can share my desktop with people anywhere on the Internet and with them sharing in the design process, it can cut approval time from two to three weeks to two to three hours. That's a no-brainer."

Now, with online collaboration tools like Glance, Groove Networks, WebEx and others, two or more people can work on a single document together at the same time, no matter where they are. Even home-based or teleworking teams can collaborate as if in the same building.

All they need is a phone line and a Web-enabled computer. With Glance, only the host pays; in some services, all parties pay to participate.

With Glance, invited users are seeing what the host actually sees on his screen -- whether it's a document, PowerPoint presentation, or even his e-mail inbox or Web site. Marquez will review documents, spreadsheets, along with architectural files with clients. He's even used Glance to coordinate a grass-roots marketing effort for a city election.

Here's how it works: Marquez will call or e-mail up to 15 participants, telling them the Web site address, password and time to log on. Or he can call a Glance session on a moment's notice.

Once on the Glance Web site, participants see on their browser windows exactly what Marquez sees on his screen -- only, they cannot make any changes to the content. They can only watch what Marquez does, and discuss it on the phone. Once the session is over, they log off and hang up.

Glance and other online collaboration solutions were borne of the frustration in using technology-intensive videoconference services, said Taylor Kew, president and co-founder of Glance.

"At some point it became too much and people said, `Forget about it, we'll just use the phone,'" Kew said. "It has to be as easy and reliable as the phone or e-mail. The point of differentiation today is simplicity."

With Glance, Marquez subscribes to the service and downloads software once to any computer from which he might host a meeting.

For Marquez, collaborating with clients like ComReal, a Miami, FL real estate broker and developer, is simplified with online tools. Design changes on a 25-megabyte CAD file can be made and reviewed instantly, and client approvals can be given before the call is through. He's even won new business, drafted and completed designs without ever meeting the client for face-to-face reviews.

Learn more by visiting Glance (www.glance.net), Groove Networks (www.groove.net), NetMeeting (www.microsoft.com/windows/netmeeting), Citrix's GoToMeeting (www.gotomeeting.com), and WebEx (www.webex.com), GatherPlace (www.gatherplace.net), among others.

Jeff Zbar, the ChiefHomeOfficer.com, is a speaker, writer and expert on alternative officing. He is the author of Teleworking & Telecommuting: Strategies for Remote Workers and Their Managers (Made E-Z Products, 2002); Safe@Home: Seven Keys to Home Office Security (FirstPublish 2001) and Your Profitable Home Business (on CD-ROM from Made E-Z Products). Visit his Web site to subscribe to Home Office Success Stories, his free electronic magazine on home business and teleworking.