Colligo builds offline client for SharePoint

Collaboration vendor Colligo last week released two clients for Microsoft SharePoint. One gives users the ability to take SharePoint content offline, including a wide array of metadata and information stored in lists. Users can then replicate changes made offline when reconnected to the network.

The second, Reader for SharePoint, is a read-only client that is available for free and is intended for use with read-only intranet sites built on SharePoint.

Microsoft offers two offline clients for its collaboration server SharePoint - Outlook and Groove - but Outlook offers only offline access to a limited amount of SharePoint data. The Groove option requires deployment of that client and its back-end infrastructure, and focuses on bringing documents into the Groove Workspace interface.

Colligo also competes with a similar product from Digi-Link.

"This has been the Holy Grail for SharePoint users, because remote and mobile workers were not able to take work offline," says David Smith, an analyst with Gartner. He says, however, Colligo will face some competition with Groove, which Microsoft is marrying to its collaboration infrastructure around Office and SharePoint.

"Users will have to think about their SharePoint strategy when picking a client," Smith says.

Colligo's Contributor client allows users to capture all SharePoint data and take it offline by clicking a synchronization button in the client, which brings down all data or only preselected files. Colligo's software installs on Windows XP desktops and is designed to mimic the Outlook interface used for online SharePoint connections. Files are stored locally in a small encrypted database. Contributor supports all versions of Windows SharePoint Services and SharePoint Portal Server, and it does not require software to be installed on the server.

Users also can drag-and-drop SharePoint files into the Colligo environment. Contributor, which is built on the .Net framework, is targeted at SharePoint collaboration sites.

When Contributor replicates data from SharePoint it preserves document libraries, custom lists and views. Users are then able to edit the content offline. Contributor's synchronization capabilities include a conflict-resolution feature in case offline changes clash with changes made online by another user.

Microsoft's Office 2007, when it ships later this year, will support two-way synchronization of events, contacts, tasks and documents between SharePoint and Outlook, but it does not support other information available when users are online, including views, custom lists, issues and such metadata as author and review cycle status.

The new version of Office includes a Groove Server and client enhancements for SharePoint, including the new SharePoint Files Tool that lets you bring document libraries or a folder from a library into Groove. The enhancements include tools for discussion, files, meetings, calendar, forms, InfoPath forms, issue tracking, Notepad, pictures and Sketchpad. Colligo's Contributor is priced at $99 per seat.