Web workflow suite

Zoho has added a new module to its suite of business apps: a complete Web-based human resources system called Zoho People. Not being an HR professional I can"t tell how well or poorly it compares with things like Taleo, but a quick run-through impressed me. The app is, as all HR systems must be, a relational database of people, jobs, and departments, with complex rules on who can see what. In the Zoho case, there"s also a self-service module so employees and managers can update certain records without going through HR. Zoho People also has some nice Web 2.0 features, such as the capability to create embeddable HTML code for a table of the company"s job openings, to put it on a company site or blog. ***

In an effort to compete with Microsoft's Exchange Server and Lotus Development's Notes, Oracle will ship its InterOffice groupware package next week but will also try to use it as another way to promote its Network Computer standard. Oracle's recently announced Network Computer Reference Platform has been endorsed by more than 15 companies, but none of the hardware manufacturers signed on to make the NCs have yet shipped any of the stripped-down boxes, which will be used primarily for the Internet and priced around $500. And while IBM and some others say they intend to aim their NCs at the corporate market, many potential customers are skeptical about how useful these machines will be. ***