Jive's Clearspace: Using Web 2.0 tools to avoid e-mail in business

Are people fed up enough with traditional collaboration software that they'll try this "Web 2.0 in business" idea? Jive Software is betting they are.

The company on Monday is expected to announce the availability of Clearspace 2.0, a set of tools for sharing information and making connections within a business or between a company and outside partners.

Jive Software's Clearspace 2.0 uses Web 2.0 technologies for collaboration in enterprises.

(Credit: Jive Software)

Employees create a space to share documents, see what colleagues are online, or have ongoing discussions.

The product was first launched last year, a departure from Jive's software for hosting Web forums. The company raised $15 million from Sequoia Capital last year to build out the product and market it.

How is it different from Microsoft's SharePoint? CEO Dave Hersh says that the software is designed around people, rather than files, which makes it a good complement, or even a replacement for SharePoint.

Version 2.0 has a feature that lets employees create their own pages, where they list projects they are working on and where others can find who they work with. It also allows people to get an organizational view, like an org chart.