As evidenced by published research (in, for example, the WEBSIM Conferences, Winter Simulation Conferences, and by the contributions of other members of this panel) web-based simulation has raised much interest in the academic community. There is also evidence that some advances are being made in the commercial simulation community. However, in the UK at least, discussions held between academic and industrial simulationists at various meetings of the UK Operational Research Society's Simulation Study Group and the UK Simulation Society have suggested that there is little knowledge of what web-based simulation is and what it can do. One (possibly contentious) reason for this could be a poor link between academic research and commercial simulation practice. "This all looks very impressive, but I can't see me using it," has been a view that has been expressed to this author several times. Is this then a question of poor accessibility or resistance to technological change? Or is it the case that most simulation practitioners cannot see what impact web-based simulation research and technology can have on their everyday working practices?

Consider groupware. Groupware arose from the field of Computer Supported Collaborative Working, a field that considers sociological and technological aspects of group working, and can be considered as "computer-based systems that support groups of people engaged in a common task (or goal) and that provide an interface to a shared environment (Ellis et al 1991)" or "… software that supports the creation, flow, and tracking of non-structured information in direct support of collaborative group activity (Orfali et al 1996)." It identifies the now familiar trend towards the use of task-oriented groups within organisations and how those groups are defined by the pattern of interaction that group members make between themselves and third parties. The Internet, the World Wide Web, desktop computing, office information systems, and local area networks have made possible many different types of groupware. Email, is often cited as an example of successful groupware as it allows the exchange of electronic documents and promotes information flow and coordination. Similar points can be made about other group communication facilitation technologies such as the various forms of computer-, tele-, and video-conferencing. Information can also be shared using task-specific common media, or whiteboard variants. Many of these technologies have strong links to the World Wide Web.

It is difficult to think of a simulation project without thinking of frequent collaboration between many groups of interested parties. Consider the various interactions between the simulationist and the individuals involved in the simulation project. Consider the frequency of meetings during possibly iterative activities such as project planning, conceptual modelling, verification, validation, and reporting. The scheduling of meetings and the journeys that have to be made add to the duration and the cost of the project. The question is then that if groupware technology has been used to reduce project overheads such as these, surely these benefits would be attractive to commercial simulation modellers? There is no question that web-based simulation could accomplish this. If one can identify this as a possible first step to communicating what web-based simulation could be used for (based on a clearly identifiable need and a reasonable technological implementation path), could this be the first step towards the wider proliferation of web-based simulation in commercial simulation practice? In other words, "Now I understand! I want it now!!"