Collaborative working environment

A Collaborative Working Environment (CWE) supports e-professionals in both individual and cooperative work, focusing on organizational, technical, and social aspects. Evolving from traditional co-located workspaces, CWE enables professionals to collaborate regardless of geographical location by providing tools like email, instant messaging, application sharing, video conferencing, document management systems, task management, wikis, blogging, and virtual workplaces.

The concept of CWE is rooted in virtual workspaces and extends the idea of professional collaboration to include remote work and knowledge workers who rely heavily on ICT. It encompasses online collaborations, communities of practice (e.g., open-source projects), and open innovation principles. A Collaborative Work System (CWS) is broader than CWE, focusing not only on technology but also on human activities and structures that promote cooperation within organizations. While a CWE emphasizes technological tools for collaboration, a CWS integrates these tools with strategies, policies, and behaviors to achieve organizational goals.

Key distinctions include the self-explanatory nature of "system" versus "environment": CWS pertains to intentional collaborative work practices, while CWE focuses on the surrounding technologies. Although groupware (hardware/software tools) is often part of a CWS, it is not essential. The relationship between CWS and Collaborative Software (CSCW) highlights that CSCW combines CWS with groupware support, whereas CWE transcends this by addressing individual and cooperative work beyond specific collaborative tasks.

In summary, CWE provides technological support for remote collaboration, while CWS encompasses the broader human and structural aspects of fostering effective teamwork.