Microsoft announces MSI with Groove.

The Groove Networks software solution integrates Groove Workspace with SharePoint (TM) Team Services from Microsoft, giving customers a team Web site solution that supports online and offline use, works across company firewalls, and synchronizes information automatically.

For me, this is the fruition of a major project. I've come to like SharePoint for its straightforward (even webloggish), flexible Web-based collaborative environment. And we've built tools in Groove which let you securely disconnect all of that from the server, without losing any of its value. I'm especially proud of our work with custom lists: one of SharePoint's strengths is the ability to very easily create and modify schemas for custom forms, and we synchronize the schema right into Groove (the toolset reconfigures itself on-the-fly). Incredibly powerful technology, but more importantly, really really easy to use.

"When users disconnect from the network they can continue working with SharePoint Team Services Web sites to carry out a range of tasks including updating documents, adding items or events to calendars, or participating in discussions".

The IW article has it best: "Getting Out Of Isolated-Workplace Ruts":

Dana Gardner, an analyst with Aberdeen Group, says there's no other product on the market that can combine a powerful centralized collaboration tool such as Sharepoint with the decentralized, offline capabilities of Groove. "There's nothing this comprehensive for the user and easy for an IT department," Gardner says. "You get the best of an intranet combined with the best of an extranet."