The Forrester Wave for Collaboration Platforms, Q2 2006

Forrester defines Collaboration platforms as;

“Unified electronic platforms that support synchronous and asynchronous communication through a variety of devices and channels. Collaboration platforms offer a set of software components and software services that enable individuals to find each other and the information they need and to be able to communicate and work together to achieve common business goals. The core elements of a collaboration platform today are messaging (email, calendaring, and contacts), team collaboration, and real-time collaboration (e.g., instant messaging and Web conferencing). Additional features will become standard in collaboration platforms during the next 12 to 18 months, like blog and wiki tools.”

Forrester evaluated five leading collaboration platform vendors across 98 criteria and found that IBM and Microsoft are still the Leaders in this market. They think IBM is an especially good fit for Java and Linux environments; Microsoft is better suited for Microsoft shops; Oracle is an especially good fit for Oracle shops that have a Java orientation and want a unified collaboration platform; and Sun is an especially good choice for Java shops that have open source leanings.

You can download the report for free from Microsoft’s website.