Windows Vista, due in January 2007, will also have integrated web- based collaboration features that work with its Office products.

Due out early next year, the Android- based tablet promises to enable cloud- based collaboration on the go for business types.

The innovative business concepts included green-tech services, social media- based collaboration tools, mobile productivity applications and new social and charitable ventures.

Oracle intends to offer the eSuite applets as an option to its Web- based collaboration and database messaging product, Oracle InterOffice.

Tapping several sweet spots in web development, Wave aggregates real-time Twitter-esque instant messaging with email, wiki- based collaboration features and social networking.

The first was web- based collaboration tools, as opposed to old fashioned desktop software that needs to be installed in each employee's computer.

When Cental Desktop for Office becomes available in June, this check-in and check-out process will be replaced by simultaneous, cloud- based collaboration, Garcia said.

Ease-of-use Web- based collaboration wrapped around the SAP aura of stability and seriousness is what will sell stuff like this to Fortune 500 CIOs.

Analysts said Google Apps for teams is a promising start to an increasingly aggressive Web- based collaboration strategy to compete against Microsoft in business software.