Ozzie cited a recent example of how Groove Workspace technology is being used on the front lines in the war in Iraq to coordinate supply requests. Previously, the supply replenishment process was cumbersome and slow, often requiring a courier to carry a paper form hundreds of miles back from the front lines to a remote supply location.
Because Groove is a purely decentralized system that does not need a server to host the application, laptops already available were loaded with the Groove application. Within two days, according to Ozzie, the Groove system was in place, collecting damage assessments and supply needs on laptops while offline and then transferring the requests back to the supply center when connectivity was available.
This example highlights the inherent value in providing technology that can quickly answer dynamic collaboration needs. "To conceptualize an application on a Saturday and deploy it on Monday is astounding," Ozzie said.
