electronic collaboration (eCollaboration)
E-collaboration is real-time online collaboration over the Internet. It is the collaboration of groups, teams, companies and partners to optimize the value chain. E-based collaboration is about sharing resources, developmental, process-based, production and service-oriented concerns. Crucial to this is an end-to-end process chain and efficient networking of project participants located regionally and nationally.
Such an e-collaboration concept with global orientation and efficient networking forms the basis for central competitive advantages.
In contrast to traditional collaboration, online collaboration involves a wide variety of communication platforms and e-services. Thus, stationary workplace solutions and mobile solutions and the most diverse online communication services such as e-mail, multimediamessaging service( MMS), unified messaging service( UMS), instant messaging( IM), video conferencing and web conferencing, which are unified in communication and information by means of unified communication and collaboration( UCC).
E-collaboration represents the extension ofe-procurement in terms of other business activities. Thus, e-collaboration encompasses entire projects and products up to the creation of entire production facilities and factories. Because e-collaboration is interactive and flexible, it reduces project costs and improves collaboration among employees, partners, and customers. It bridges distances between collaborating project partners, bringing them closer together.
A typical example of e-collaboration is automotive technology with its supplier companies, whose products are developed in direct cooperation with the automotive company.