Groovey man

Many of you will be aware that I've been looking at Microsoft Groove as a solution for inter-agency collaboration and information sharing. Well, I'm pleased to report that the CEG recently agreed that Groove and Google Earth are central to collaboration. We considered including Skype in that category too but decided that this was an optional extra.

Members of the Manawatu-Wanganui CDEM Group are therefore encouraged to install MS Groove 2007 in their EOCs. As we get used to this technology, I understand that limited installations will be carried out - probably on stand-alone machines. I'm confident though, that as things develop we will find day-to-day uses for these tools and integrate them into our daily work routines. You can view a video of Groove here.

We have created several Groove, G-mail and Skype accounts that follow a theme of generic naming. Funnily enough, all ours start with Horizons. They then describe positions EM, RMC, PRFO, EMO, ECC, MOB1, MOB2, MOB3 (MOB = our mobile office), CE, GMRSI, GMCG, PIM. We may also look to develop CIMS titles such as LOG, PI, OPS, H&S for use within the ECC. In the meantime we will set it up so that emergency communications go to the Group Emergency Co-ordination Centre (ECC) - HorizonsECC. I suggest we work on a consistent naming theme as we start implementing Groove across the Group.

We will be doing some rudimentary tests of the system during Exercise Regroup next week but it will take several months to roll out the software to be a comprehensive tool for collaboration. In the meantime, please give some thought development of the system, installation and inter-agency involvement - we'd love to hear your views.