Not exactly a shock but indicative of both technical intent and direction at Microsoft. The full article is available at Grid Computing Planet. Most followers of P2P and collaboration technologies are familiar with Groove Networks offering. It enables the creation of a virtual office by connecting PC’s together over a P2P network to create a secure workspace where document, applications and communications can be shared. The Groove software will be integrated within Microsoft Office, integrating with the RTC (Real-time Collaboration) s/w that Microsoft already bundles including Office Live Update.
In another twist, Ray Ozzie, the creator and CTO of Groove will become the CTO of Mc$oft’s collaboration s/w division.
Ozzie, who will become CTO and report to Microsoft Chief Software Architect Bill Gates, is renowned for creating Lotus Notes, now a multi-billion-dollar business for IBM. He is also one of seven “Windows pioneers,” an honor bestowed to engineers who have contributed to the improvement of the operating system.
Gates, who joined the conference call from Redmond, that Groove technology has “fantastic and very unique” properties Microsoft wants to put into Office.
“He’s made a huge contribution in terms of giving us feedback about the platform,” Gates said, citing Ozzie’s work on Windows user interfaces and Visual Studio. “It’s very exciting to have Ray and his team joining Microsoft. I think it’s really going to help us do a better job for all of the information workers out there.”
Noting that he has had the privilege of working with Ozzie for “many decades” as he was building applications on DOS or Windows, Gates said he had wanted to hire Ozzie for a long time. The CTO will have a great deal of say over corporate communication and collaboration offerings.
He will also continue his work with Groove’s roughly 200 employees, which will remain at Groove’s Beverly, Mass., headquarters as part of Microsoft’s Information Worker Group.
Ozzie said his plan for Groove reflected how the business environment was changing, including a different type of security model based less on setting up firewalls and more on how people work with one another.
“Over the years, we’ve been very fortunate have led us all to be carrying around Wi-Fi-enabled laptops,” Ozzie said. “The nature of work itself has changed for many of us. We very commonly do work in a geographically dispersed fashion, in the office, at home, in hotels, at Starbucks and so on. Our interactions involve being on multiple networks…”
Microsoft had already demonstrated its committment to both Groove Networks and collaboration software with a $38 million investment in Groove during 2003.