To put the products through their paces, we tested them using one server and five clients. We compared each product's messaging components, including chat, threading and email capabilities, with an eye to platform interoperability, project and workload scalability, and ease of use. As expected of hosted products, WebWorkZone was the easiest to set up because no download was necessary. The user interface, with its handy setup wizards to guide users, further streamlined the process. Released in December, it supports Windows NT and 2000 servers.
Clients can use other platforms that are equipped with suitable browsers.
Both eRoom 5.0 and Team Center 4.0.3 excelled in real-time messaging and provided good overall contact between the server and clients. For example, both products used email alerts in order to inform users about changes in a project. WebWorkZone, which came online in November, moves documents back and forth without stress on companies' servers or platforms, no matter how many clients are exchanging information. We encountered slower response times with WebWorkZone than with its non-hosted rivals but could not verify the cause. Basic service includes 10MB of file storage per user, plus free access to an online support forum.