Groove Networks Webcast Shows Small Businesses How To Create And Profit From A ``Virtual Office''.

BEVERLY, Mass. -- Webcast includes seven tips for creating a virtual office, two customer case studies and a demonstration of Groove Virtual Office version 3.0

Groove Networks Inc. today made available a webcast that shows small businesses how to create a "virtual office" to reduce costs, improve productivity, and tighten connections with remote employees, clients and partners. Moderated by Jeff Zbar, a recognized expert on small and home office technologies, the webcast features tips for creating a successful virtual office, two customer case studies, and a demonstration of how Groove Virtual Office software allows teams to work together over the Internet as if they were in the same office. One featured customer has experienced a revenue spike of more than $75,000 since establishing its Groove-powered virtual office.

The on-demand webcast, titled "Setting Up a Virtual Office: Seven Simple Ways to Get it Right," is available free at http://groove.net/index.cfm?pagename=Webcast_7tips. Following the webcast, viewers interested in learning more about Groove Virtual Office can download a free trial edition of the software and chat live with Groove Networks' staff.

"The virtual work environment is truly a double-edged sword," said Jeff Zbar, author and columnist. "A virtual office can afford small companies significant benefits such as reduced real-estate costs, staffing flexibility, international reach and greater intimacy with remote customers and partners. Yet, without the proper best practices, guidelines and technology, virtual companies can suffer from crippled productivity, increased operational costs and employee isolation. A combination of accountable employees, fluid communication, a 'sharing' culture and software like Groove Virtual Office is the recipe for success in today's virtual marketplace."

"Before implementing a virtual office with Groove software, we confronted many of the same challenges articulated in the webcast," said John Picirillo, chief operating officer for Mediathink, an Atlanta-based marketing company with four full-time employees and 12 to 15 external contractors. "With email as our only tool for communicating and sharing information, we struggled to stay on the same page with our remote contractors and dispersed clients. With Groove Virtual Office, we spend less time coordinating our work and more time providing value for our clients. Groove has enabled us to bring in an extra $75,000 to $100,000 in client revenue, without increasing real-estate, staffing or technology expenses."

Groove Virtual Office

More than 6,000 small businesses today use Groove Virtual Office software to allow dispersed employees and outside partners to work together securely over the Internet as if they were in the same office. Small businesses are attracted to Groove Virtual Office because its ease-of-use reduces training costs, and because its "no server, no IT-required" capabilities keep start-up costs low. Out of the box, small businesses can use Groove Virtual Office to share and work together on files, conduct online meetings, manage projects, and communicate with instant messaging, text chat and voice. Small businesses can also customize the software to support specific business processes without any software development skills.

Shipped in July, Groove Virtual Office v3.0 is a major upgrade with hundreds of enhancements relevant to small businesses, including a new capability for securely synchronizing files among multiple PCs right from Windows Explorer, and an enhanced forms tool for easily creating custom business applications to track sales leads, product information, inventory levels and more.

About Groove Networks

Founded in October 1997 and headquartered in Beverly, Mass., Groove Networks Inc. delivers the "virtual office" through software that allows teams of people to work together over a network as if they were in the same location. Groove software helps organizations, large and small, save money, time and eliminate travel by offering both a desktop application for instant joint work, and a set of customizable, open collaboration capabilities that enhance the utility and value of existing solutions. A 60-day free trial edition of Groove Virtual Office is available at http://www.groove.net/downloads/groove/.

Groove Networks and Groove are registered trademarks of Groove Networks Inc. All other trademarks are owned by their respective companies.