Novell Unveils Java-Enabled GroupWise Client
Articles and Tips: article
01 Apr 1997
Novell recently announced the upcoming release of GroupWise WebAccess with Java and HTML 3.0 support. This new version will give Internet/intranet users a more dynamic interface from which to access the advanced functionality of GroupWise. An open beta is scheduled to be available in March via download from Novell's Web site.
The Java and HTML 3.0 enhancements to GroupWise WebAccess make it as easy to use GroupWise via the Internet as it is to use on the desktop by creating an intuitive browser interface that is virtually identical to the GroupWise desktop environment. In addition, GroupWise WebAccess is the only product on the market that gives users a single interface from which they can send and retrieve E mail, attachments, voice messages, facsimiles, calendar items, appointments and tasks over the Internet.
"Since the first release of GroupWise WebAccess in 1996, our customers have rushed to take advantage of platform-independent access to the Universal Mailbox," said Stewart Nelson, vice president and general manager, Novell Applications Division. "Our goal is to merge the sophisticated collaborative features of GroupWise with the flexibility and cost-effective opportunities provided by the Internet. GroupWise WebAccess leverages Java and HTML 3.0 technologies, allowing customers to take advantage of all that GroupWise and the Internet have to offer."
"Users today require a high degree of application functionality from browsers, particularly from a groupware client," said Matt Cain, vice president, Workgroup Computing Strategies, META Group, Inc., and a leading groupware analyst. "Novell's new version of GroupWise WebAccess with Java applets and support for HTML 3.0 puts the GroupWise WebAccess client on par with the traditional GroupWise desktop client."
Improved Web-Based Functionality The upcoming version of GroupWise WebAccess will introduce a graphical, intuitive, Java-enabled view of GroupWise to Internet/intranet users via a Web browser. Java and HTML 3.0 allow GroupWise WebAccess to overcome the previous limitations of HTML 1.0, offering full-featured, interactive views of calendars, address books and messages that do not require the end user to learn a new interface. Java's network-transportable functionality also offers Web users improved efficiency by enabling them to simultaneously select multiple recipients from the NDS-enabled (Novell Directory Services) GroupWise directory. Although GroupWise 5.1 offers this capability, the limits of HTML 1.0 previously forced GroupWise WebAccess users to select one user name at a time.
In addition, GroupWise users can now use the Internet to search co-workers' or meeting room calendars for availability, which results in more efficient management of employee scheduling. Users may also access GroupWise document libraries to search and retrieve copies of important shared documents. The ability to send, receive and view attachments through GroupWise WebAccess means that users may work with attachments, regardless of file format, over the Internet without having to worry about complicated translation applications. As always, the advanced security features inherent in GroupWise ensure the safety and integrity of any GroupWise WebAccess transmission.
"By enhancing the GroupWise Web client, Novell is fast approaching its goal of providing a feature-rich, dynamic and intuitive client for the only true universal platform -- the Internet," Nelson said. "GroupWise WebAccess is a true intranet solution that gives users the freedom to choose how they access and work with their information, regardless of whether they're at the office, at home or on the road."
GroupWise WebAccess Support and Availability The Java-enabled version of GroupWise WebAccess requires HTML 3.0 and will run on GroupWise 5 and future versions. GroupWise WebAccess is currently available for GroupWise 4.1 and GroupWise 5 and supports most popular operating systems including IntranetWare, Windows NT and UNIX. Customers can download the GroupWise WebAccess open beta, which will be available in March, from Novell's Public Beta Web site at http://support.novell.com/home/pubbeta/. For more information about GroupWise or GroupWise WebAccess, call (800) 861-2507, any local Novell office or Novell representative, or visit Novell's Web site at http://www.novell.com/products/groupwise/.
Today, GroupWise 5.1 is the industry's only expanded client/server E-mail system to include full document management capabilities as part of a new Universal Mailbox. The Universal Mailbox also gives users single point access to personal calendaring, group scheduling, tasks, voice mail, faxes, documents and other message types both from the desktop and via the Internet using GroupWise WebAccess. In 1997, Novell also will deliver the eagerly awaited technology initiative, the Jefferson Project, which will allow organizations to create, manage and publish documents to the World Wide Web, as well as to corporate intranets.
Supporting Open Standards Novell has been a pioneer in the development and implementation of industry standards and will continue to play an integral role in the design of and adherence to future standards, particularly as they pertain to the Internet.
GroupWise 5.1 currently provides native support for open Internet standards and protocols, including SMTP/MIME, HTTP, HTML, TCP-IP and LDAP (client). Support for POP3, LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol), IMAP4 and S-MIME (Secure Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension) will be available in the second calendar quarter of this year.
The Novell Applications Division participates in the following standards organizations: Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF); World Wide Web Consortium (W3C); and Electronic Messaging Association (EMA). As part of its involvement in the IETF, the division participates in the document management, calendaring, scheduling and secure messaging workgroups, which are working to define future industry standards in those areas.
* Originally published in Novell AppNotes
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