[7] Groove's basic set of services (including always-on security, persistent chat, store-and-forward messaging delivery, firewall/NAT transparency, ad-hoc group formation, and change notification) may be customized with tools.

Tools are mini-applications that rely on Groove's underlying functionality to disseminate and synchronize their contents with other members' copies of the workspace.

Groove provides various tools that can be added to (and removed from) a workspace to customize the functionality of each space (for example a calendar, discussion, file sharing, an outliner, pictures, notepad, sketchpad, web browser, etc.).

[8] Groove 2007 includes a presence subsystem, which keeps track of which users in the contact store are online, and presents the information in the launchbar.

The following versions have been released since: Microsoft claims the name change is a natural progression, since Groove is to SharePoint what Outlook is to Exchange.