SiteScape Enterprise Forum runs in any environment with little muss or fuss. You can host SiteScape on Compaq Computer Tru64, Microsoft Windows NT/2000, Red Hat Linux or Sun Microsystems Solaris, using Netscape, Apache or Microsoft Web servers, and any client that implements a standard browser, from PDAs to desktops. We used Microsoft Windows 2000 and IIS to host SiteScape. SiteScape also can host your collaboration environment through its ASP service, WebWorkZone. And it's painless to try this service on your own: WebWorkZone offers a free 30-day trial.
Priced at about $50 per user for 200 users for the self-hosted software, SiteScape is easy on your corporate wallet. It's also easy to install and manage, and simple to use. But like many packages that are simple to use out of the box, its functionality and presentation are limited, especially when compared with heavyweights like eRoom and Intraspect. Then again, why pay for more than you need? If you're looking for a single place your users can go to discuss projects, share documents and calendars, and to organize your collaborative content with easy access via an AltaVista search engine, SiteScape may be a good fit for your organization. Don't use a sledgehammer when a ball-peen will do.
SiteScape uses the host OS's file system, rather than a separate database, to store data. A small company won't need to worry about the care and feeding of an enterprise database product. However, this method of data storage provides little granularity for managing security. Also, search and access response times can increase with user load.
A SiteScape work space comprises various primary and specialized forums. Primary forums include discussions and calendars; specialized forums include moderated discussions, contact manager forums, helpdesk forums, résumé trackers, sales manager forums, chat rooms and newsstands. Each specialized forum is really a discussion forum with modified attributes to perform unique functions for sales, human resources and support staff. Entries can be spell checked via a nice Java applet.
Handheld access is easy to set up and support through a wizard that makes the necessary entries for AvantGo. Like eRoom, SiteScape Enterprise Forum includes a POP3 e-mail client and a parser that lets you set up a single mailbox for SiteScape to poll via POP3 and deliver mail to any forum you set up to receive mail. Addressing inbound mail gets a bit convoluted using this scheme, but at least you don't need to set up multiple mailboxes.
Once you've entered SiteScape Forum, you're presented with a clean interface that includes tabs that take you directly to the main work space, summary, discussions, calendars, chat rooms and messaging. Clicking on the My Summary tab takes you to a page that lists summary information for any item in the forum. My Summary contents are user-defined and can include the number of unseen entries in each discussion, with links to the unseen items, calendar views for today or this week, and information about chats (real-time discussions that occur at a set time) and messaging (which contains real-time, ad hoc, user-initiated discussions). In a busy forum, the My Summary page helps you quickly find the information that's important to you. SiteScape also includes a tracker, which seems to overlap the functionality of the My Summary page.
SiteScape's chat feature can use the IRC (Internet Relay Chat) protocol or HTML. It's nice to have the flexibility to choose between the two protocols, but plan to use HTML unless you have some commitment to IRC: HTML chat will work better with users outside your corporate firewall.
SiteScape Enterprise Forum 6.0, $9,995 for 200 users. SiteScape, (800) 707-3222, (910) 256-5038; fax (910) 256-5074. www.sitescape.com or sales@sitescape.com
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