• Mirapoint's Group Calendaring and GetMail
• SuSE Linux Openexchange Server
• Critical Path Groupware

by Alex Goldman ISP-Planet Associate Editor and Amy Newman ServerWatch Managing Editor [October 28, 2002]

Mirapoint's Group Calendaring and GetMail
Messaging appliance maker Mirapoint is releasing group calendaring and unified e-mail products to add functionality to its messaging servers and gateways. The products are targeted at service providers, educational and government institutions, and enterprises.

Along with the Mirapoint Message Server (M4000 or M400), the Message Director (MD400), and the Directory Server (DS400), the Mirapoint product line allows service providers to manage and control voice messages, wireless messages (including MMS, SMS, WAP, and i-mode), webmail, POP, IMAP, and SMTP, on a single suite of products.

Mirapoint products interface with wireless gateways to handle wireless protocols and with unified communications gateways to handle voice and fax messages. Key features of the calendaring product include:

• Personal and group calendaring
• Accessibility from any Web or wireless client
• Checks and identifies schedule conflicts and suggests free meeting times
• Ability to accept and decline appointments
• Access controls on calendars and individual appointments
• Ability to view or subscribe to other users' calendars
• Ability to manage group resources (such as conference rooms and presentation aids)
• Mirapoint's class of service controls allow service providers to bill on a per-user or per-domain basis

Jeff Brainard, Mirapoint senior product marketing manager, said the open and intuitive interface of the group calendaring solution has been used in some unexpected ways.

"One educational institution set up a calendar for the concert hall, and everyone on campus could add events like rock concerts to their personal calendar," Brainard said.

Wholly integrated with Mirapoint appliances, the group calendaring application requires Mirapoint Operating System 3.2 (MOS 3.2). Pricing for group calendaring starts at $4 to $5 per user, but volume discounts are available.

Mirapoint's GetMail product is free to users of MOS 3.2. The GetMail product allows users to access up to 10 e-mail accounts. It color-codes e-mail from different accounts, and also filters e-mail into defined folders. Brainard noted, "that means, if you access your webmail account from Yahoo! or Hotmail, that e-mail will be filtered through Mirapoint's anti-spam and anti-virus protection, which should be a significant benefit."

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SuSE Linux Openexchange Server
Not wanting to be left out of the groupware migration parade, SuSE unveiled SuSE Linux Openexchange Server, the latest link in the chain of SuSE Linux Business Solutions.

SuSE Linux Openexchange Server is scheduled to begin shipping by mid-November, about the same time that UnitedLinux (a consortium in which SuSE is a key player) will release its server software. The two systems, however, will have nothing to do with one another.

The Openexchange Server combines SuSE's Linux Enterprise Server operating system with an e-mail server and groupware functionality to form a communications and groupware solution.

Like several competing recently announced offerings, SuSE Linux Openexchange Server is poised to battle Microsoft Exchange by integrating with the vendor's popular Outlook client.

SuSE estimates that SuSE Linux Openexchange Server has a low price-performance ratio largely attributable to its total cost of ownership, which is about 59 percent to 64 percent lower than that of an Exchange-based system. The primary reason for this is that SuSE's licensing model bases its calculation on the number of users that can be logged in simultaneously.

According to SuSE, the new offering combines the best of all worlds: proven open source components; comprehensive software applications that offer reliable e-mail functions for the reception, distribution, and dispatch of e-mail; integrated Web mail clients; and smart, central appointment and address management, and efficient project management and task planning tools to streamline enterprise operations. A centrally controlled document management tool and group-based discussion forums to enhance the efficiency of project teams are also available.

In addition to being Outlook-compatible, SuSE Linux Openexchange Server works with all common browsers and synchronizes with Palms and PocketPCs.

SuSE Linux Openexchange Server will be available for purchase directly from SuSE and SuSE Linux business partners by mid-November.

Priced at $1,249, the server will come with four CDs, detailed manuals, 30 days of installation support, and 12 months of system maintenance. The base license covers 10 groupware clients and an unlimited number of e-mail clients.

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Critical Path Groupware
Critical Path also released a groupware package for its well-known messaging software. Known more for its background in e-mail hosting and messaging platform for carriers and ISPs, Philip Pridmore-Brown, Critical Path enterprise messaging product line manager said the company is now ready to move into enterprises. He notes that enterprises are trying to take on more ISP functions as they cut costs, and that they're focusing more on stability and reliability.

Critical Path's carrier-class product is used to provide different classes of services to a wide range of customers—from high-end Web storage, business calendar, address book, and other business functions, all the way down to low-end personal information management (PIM) services.

Pridmore-Brown said that unlike other groupware providers, Critical Path is not focused on competing with Microsoft.

"As enterprises look for lower total cost of ownership alternatives, we're targeting IBM's Lotus Notes subscriber base because the Lotus road map provides some uncertainty, especially for those customers who are not currently embracing Websphere," he said.

Pridmore-Brown, added that it's the cost of switching that's the key problem for most carriers. "We make the economics more attractive by bundling migration and configuration tools to make transitions easier," he said.

Priced as a one-time license fee, Critical Path's carrier product ranges from $2.50 per seat to $8.50 per seat depending on the size and features required.

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