The Workgroup Expert is a reporting tool designed to monitor the status of communications with Commence clients on the network. It runs as a separate program on the same PC as the Commence Server.

The Workgroup Expert gathers information about every client in the workgroup, reports on the status of the workgroup, and offers recommendations for resolving any problems detected in the workgroup.

Once you setup the Workgroup Expert, the program will periodically capture snapshots of status information from the Commence server and clients. The data will be analyzed by the Workgroup Expert and a report will automatically be e-mailed to the Commence administrator. The report will typically contain a summary of each client's status, followed by statistics about each client.

The Workgroup Expert is designed to detect the most common workgroup synchronization errors as well as conditions that lead to errors. If any errors are detected with data synchronization, the report will identify the problem and refer you to the Workgroup Expert online help for detailed recommendations on how to resolve the problem.

One of the most important features of the Workgroup Expert is how easy it is to use. Setting up the program is simply a matter of entering the time of day you want to receive a report, and entering the e-Mail address to which the reports will be mailed. The Workgroup Expert takes over from there, automatically collecting and analyzing the information, and sending it to the appropriate people via e-Mail. You can also generate reports manually as needed. Administrators have nothing to lose and a great deal to gain by using the Workgroup Expert.

Here are just a few of the benefits

Saves time
The Workgroup Expert minimizes the amount of time and effort required to support and troubleshoot a Commence workgroup. The brief summary section of the report brings problems to the attention of the administrator, rather than the administrator having to track down problems. The increased efficiency helps administrators solve workgroup problems quickly and easily as they occur.

Prevents problems
By regularly monitoring the workgroup, the Workgroup Expert can detect abnormal synchronization behavior early on before it affects the performance of the workgroup. As a result, regular maintenance ensures that the synchronization process is both reliable and robust.

Allows for remote administration
By gathering all pertinent workgroup data in one place, this utility allows the Commence administrator to monitor the workgroup remotely without having to go to each client workstation. For workgroups with clients across the globe, or in cases where the administrator is not local to the Commence server, the Workgroup Expert is indispensable.

Positive feedback
Lets you know when the workgroup is functioning normally, so the administrator can concentrate on other tasks.

Reassures clients
End-users now have some measure of determining that their database is up to date and that the data they have entered is properly synchronizing with the server.