Wiki software provides shortcut to cost savings

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Wiki software provides free shortcut to cost savings


By NATASHA NETSCHAY DAVIES
Special to The Globe and Mail

Software developer Xten Networks Inc. has an edge when it comes to meeting deadlines: a Web-based collaboration system called a Wiki, which has shortened its product development time by 20 per cent.

Wiki technology, invented by Oregon programmer Ward Cunningham, is server software that allows users to quickly create and edit on-line content using any Web browser (\"wikiwiki\" means \"fast\" in Hawaiian). The software is available from commercial developers, and there are also free open-source packages.

Typically, a Wiki website (referred to simply as a Wiki) is customized for a specific project such as a product manual or a report. Employees can organize, cross-link and hyperlink content, post comments or simply view a project in progress. The Wiki converts text entries into Web pages and requires no programming skills, so people usually don\'t have to take any special training to use one.

Xten develops voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) software, and its development team is scattered across two continents. A Wiki \"was the best way not only to disseminate information but to allow developers to interact and provide input\" between offices in California, British Columbia and Sweden, president Erik Lagerway says.

Mr. Lagerway said a free version of Wiki software he found through a Google search \"cuts down on tools such as an HTML editor, an FTP client or e-mail programs that we have to use in order to be able to accomplish an interactive type of scenario with other [software] developers. It\'s a huge time saver.\"

In addition to running an employees-only Wiki that is protected by a firewall, Xten used a Wiki platform to beta test its latest VoIP software product, eyeBeam. The code was made available to potential customers such as large telcos and cable carriers, who explored it and published feedback to the Wiki.

\"Testers can download the code or upload a fix to it. It\'s a great interactive forum for building software,\" Mr. Lagerway said. He added that the interface of his open-source Wiki package wasn\'t \"pretty\" and there was little technical support, but it was \"functional\" for his company\'s needs.

\"For large uptake you\'re going to need a commercial product with more polish and better documentation. You\'re going to want someone that you can call and yell at when something isn\'t working right,\" Mr. Lagerway said.

Companies using Wikis include Walt Disney Co. and Motorola Inc. They\'re part of the growing demand for \"social software tools.\" Analyst Ronald Gruia from Frost and Sullivan said the market for Internet collaborative applications reached $472-million (U.S.) in 2003, and it\'s forecast to hit $3-billion by 2010.

Mr. Gruia added that Wikis are growing in popularity because they can cut the duration of a project by 30 per cent to 50 per cent while creating a sense of community.

Socialtext, based in Palo-Alto, Calif., is one of the first companies to commercialize the Wiki concept. Founder Ross Mayfield said the collaboration product is \"a substitute for e-mails and attachments as a way for groups to work together.\"

He cites customer 1UP.com, a gaming division of Ziff Davis Media, as an example. Socialtext software eliminated 100 daily group e-mails, also called \"occupational spam,\" and shaved one month from a four-month software project, he said.

Socialtext competes with products such as IBM\'s Lotus Notes or Microsoft Corp.\'s SharePoint Services, which Mr. Mayfield said impose a lot of \"structure\" on the user. \"Wikis trust the users to create their own information architecture without needing a programmer to do it for them,\" he said.

Capgemini analyst Erika Toomey listed collaboration software such as Wikis as one of six key technology trends to watch in the next two years.

\"It\'s not just dealing over the cubicle [wall] any more. It\'s going outside the boundaries of the company to help your client get the best service,\" Ms. Toomey said.



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