On Thu, 2004-08-26 at 23:41, Nathan England wrote:
> A client of mine wants an exchange server so the office can share contacts,
> calendaring, and do inter-office email. They are totally open to using a
> 'free' software package instead of MS Exchange. What are your
> recommendations?
>
> Web based groupware is a feature, NOT the whole package. I need something that
> works with MS Outlook. They require Outlook and can not move to Kontact for a
> couple years.
>
> Has anyone used any Outlook compatible groupware suites? I'm looking into
> Kolab and OpenExchange hasn't released the code yet, and SuSE is tooo
> expensive.
>
> I appreciate the input!
----
There are a number of groupware projects in open source and proprietary
closed source but your question assumes a problem from the outset.
Microsoft Outlook exists solely to support their Exchange Server product
and only implements enough compatibility with other server types to be
minimally useful. It is a terrible IMAP client and thus, provides
minimal utility when connecting to servers which are not made by
Microsoft.
The supposition of requiring the Outlook client also suggests a lack of
understanding of the forces in the marketplace where Microsoft is moving
towards lock-in and next phase will require simultaneous updates of both
client and server and the cost of lock-in will continually grow.
If you look strictly at the utility of collaboration software, Exchange
Server is a very good product. When you consider the demands upon the
data store, the difficulty of keeping it virus and relay resistant,
backing it up, the cost of licensing and the lack of any other client
support other than Outlook (yes, it provides IMAP and POP3 but not
collaboration), it's obvious that there is a lot of cost for that
utility. A company committed to the Outlook client should look no
further than Exchange Server and pay the fiddler. If however, a company
were truly interested in groupware options, they need to take the
commitment to the Outlook client off the table.
Craig
---------------------------------------------------
PLUG-discuss mailing list -
PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us
To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change you mail settings:
http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss
(text/plain)