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Jive Software, a small company based in Portland, Ore., made its name in the enterprise-class instant messaging world, and it's now using its mantra of simplification and unification to shake up a new arena -- "next-generation" collaboration.

Eariler this year, Jive launched Clearspace v1.0, which the company calls the first enterprise-class collaboration application to combine the latest content creation tools with community-driven intelligence.

The goal is to remove some of the confusion over collaboration and offer Web 2.0 communication tools in a unified way, and make them available via the Web anytime.

Jive, a 30-person company founded about six years ago, says that Clearspace's aim is to motivate co-workers to share documents, post and read blogs and wikis, and engage in forum discussions. Collaboration and knowledge sharing are also encouraged through the use of tagging, workflow, user rewards, and RSS (Real Simple Syndication) feeds.

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Clearspace users can work together using collaborative wiki documents or other documents -- such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDFs -- that are managed through versioning and workflow. Real-time notification capabilities allow users to see who is currently editing a document, as well as when they have finished and released it.

Jive says its customers are taking to Clearspace's easy-to-use features. One analyst said Jive is helping move next-generation collaboration tools into broader use.

"We're seeing a paradigm shift with Web 2.0," said IDC Analyst Mark Levitt. "(It's) evolving from a set of social networking tools to a bona fide business proposition that unites teams, no matter their locations or roles. Clearspace is helping drive this movement, and with its friendly approach … it's the type of solution that employees will use in their daily routines. "

On the other hand, Clearspace may indeed be elegant and easy to use, but it may not include every feature you need. Future enhancements are expected to include Web conferencing, deeper real-time functionality, and social networking, among others. Jive also plans to roll out an external-facing Clearspace solution in the second quarter of 2007, enabling companies to collaborate efficiently with their customers and partners.

The current version, however, is drawing many raves.

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