Does anyone have any decent suggestions for distributed "groupware" functionality similar to Google Docs / Google Apps?
I was already wary of relying on Google, and sure enough, even with our "approved" not-for-profit account at Google, registering for our Google Apps account is turning into a huge hassle. (Never get a confirmation; try to log in; allowed to reset admin password, then get a 404 error!....) And they quote "months" for actual approval for the various not-for-profit services.
We're looking for file sharing (mostly documents and spreadsheets) and shared calendaring. This is across a small "distributed" organization where most people will be using their separate home Internet connections. Right now we have a shared webhosting account and WordPress.
I've checked out a few promising things like EyeOS but nothing is really in a finished state or full featured (and nothing that runs great on shared webhosting, though EyeOS 1.x and Oneye are good). I've also installed vTiger CRM (which includes calendaring) but it certainly isn't intended for file sharing.
I tried going with something seemingly straightforward like WebDAV (as an alternative to DropBox) as a shared "drive", but that's fraught with issues too.
I heard that "LibreOffice Online" using the web Canvas system is in development, but is fairly well hidden at the moment.
Is there no way to do what we want -- distributed collaboration on office documents and calendaring -- without just loading up full MSOffice/LibreOffice on each station, VPN connections to a file server, and MS Exchange?