Collaborative computing has been defined in many ways. Some people would say collaboration is e-mail, others shared diaries and documents, or even interaction with Internet-based applications. All of these answers are correct. Collaboration is, in effect, the integration of many different technologies into a single application or environment to facilitate information sharing and information management.
The key business benefits of using collaborative computing are:

Over the past several years, companies have begun to view messaging and collaboration as critical to their competitiveness, team communication, and employee productivity. Indeed, many successful companies today rely on messaging and collaboration to manage their communication and information needs. This in turn is increasing the productivity of "knowledge workers" by enabling communication anytime, anywhere.

Advanced technologies, such as real-time communications, instant messaging, and support for wireless and unified messaging, are establishing the foundation for new avenues of collaboration that will further help companies improve their communication and productivity. Business IT Solutions can advise on and assist with a range of collaborative computing solutions, the objective being to ensure that the potential of the chosen solution is exploited to the full.