Colabolo is an Adobe Air app that soft-launched a few days ago and wants to simplify the way tasks in a team are assigned, managed and resolved. Available in English and Japanese, the app (currently in beta) is offered by Tokyo-based ImaHima. By combining the ease of use of email with the structure of project management solutions, Colabolo intends to help handling tasks that require team work such as sales leads, approval requests, document reviews, support requests, etc.
After installing the client (system requirements), Colabolo starts with an almost spartan interface that indeed looks like that of an email client. User can create a new task (called “issue”) in just a few seconds: Click on the “New Issue” button, name and describe the task, classify it by type, assign who is responsible and you’re done. All tasks can then be tracked (and filtered) at a glance in an inbox-like grid at the top of the screen. This is also where all updates made by team members are automatically sent to.
But Colabolo isn’t only for the project leader. All issues can be scheduled, commented on and discussed in real-time by added team members. Files can be shared with drag-and drop. And Colabolo can also be integrated into existing email accounts, essentially turning it into a help desk system when dealing with external customers.
An example: If an email from a customer arrives to your company’s support email address, it will not only be automatically converted into a new Colabolo-compatible support issue but also forwarded to the support team leader. The issue can then be assigned to another colleague whose comment on the issue can be used as an email reply back to the customer from within Colabolo. If the person in charge regards the task to be resolved, all team members involved get a notification in their Colabolo in-box and can move on to the next task.
ImaHima CEO Neeraj Jhanji says this built-in inbox (with push notifications) helps reducing the number of conventional emails significantly. Asked what other factors are distinguishing Colabolo from similar solutions already existing on the market Jhanji says Colabolo is easy to use even for non-technical staff (which is true), efficient (because users don’t have to wait to be online) and fast (because Colabolo behaves like a desktop application while syncing changes with all team members in the background).
Colabolo is free at the moment, with future pricing likely to stand at around $9.99 per month and user (in contrast to many competing products, there is no limit on projects, tasks or attached files). An iPhone app is also in development.
I liked Colabolo enough to at the very least recommend downloading and trying the app out, which is true especially for start-ups looking for a simple task management tool for their team. Colabolo faces a lot of competition in the online project management field (37Signals’ Basecamp, Action Method, Daptiv, LiquidPlanner, Huddle, Producteev, Clarizen, just to name a few).
Competition from Thymer as well: http://thymer.com
I think there’s a good opportunity for a task manager & simple workflow system which Colabolo seems to be going after. I think making it an Air app is a big mistake.
The grave mistake was making it as an Adobe AIR application! No more comments…
Care to explain why/suggest a platform that makes more sense?
It definitely feels as if this application is better suited for a different platform.
Been using OpenGOO for months and it is so much better in so many ways to most of the alternatives you mention I just couldn’t let it pass. Please do yourselves a favour and check it out. It is open source.
Forgot to link http://www.opengoo.org
The place they always fail is setting up user accounts for other people..hopefully this one is different..
…doesn’t Wave sink this? (no pun intended)
that’s what I’m thinking
What are the groans for about Adobe AIR? I don’t want to put time into trying yet another solution without having more specifics about a known downside. Haven’t used anything that uses AIR.
Thanks!
Seriously who the hell thinks it is a good idea to make a password system without special characters.. pisses me off.. I WANT SPECIAL CHARACTERS in my password…
Nobody cares, but collabo, in French, means “who collaborated with the Nazis”. Tell them in case they want to penetrate the French market.
I will be waiting for their iPhone app to see how this plays out on the mobile device..especially with features (likely to be replaced) like drag-n-drop file sharing, built-in inbox, syncing etc. 熱心にはiPhoneアプリケーションを待つ。
I hope many Project Managers might be looking for such modules. Thanks for sharing!
This is very similar to a collaboration software NetResults Tracker (www.netresultstracker.com). Why doesn’t Colabolo offer on-demand service?
Looks “exactly” like JIRA wrapped in AIR.
http://www.atla...rce-control.jsp
Also have a look at Intervals, an other contender in the online project management space.