I haven't found one product that totally embodies the collaborative functionality and unbridled potential of Exchange Server and its complimentary server products (Sharepoint Portal Server, Mobile Information Server, Conference Server).
Let's face it, Exchange is not that expensive for offices utilising 1000 mailboxes. Exchange2000 with collaborative web applications, Outlook Web Access components, public folder storage etc etc is a good deal if deployed well beyond just your basic email from point A to point B. I have been working on a project for management here called the Microsoft-less office. It has been put on the backburner and will not be completed in next couple of weeks still. This involved research and in some cases obtaining rough price quotes for an office deployment including messaging applications. If you require staying on Windows as the server, there are still many email packages available. A comprehensive list of mail servers that run on Windows ironically is available at Microsoft's site: http://www.microsoft.com/NTServer/partners/findoffering/commserv/Mail.asp I think you'll end up searching elsewhere for your calendaring product. Goldmine, Act!, or a customised application even using Access and web components come to mind, though they are really contact and schedule managers: http://www.frontrange.com/products.asp http://www.act.com/home/default.php3 These solutions are not free and require admin and user training. That's all I have time for at the moment. Wife's birthday. Going to Osaka for sushi. William Lefkovics, MCSE, A+ -----Original Message----- From: Mark [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2001 4:56 PM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: Exchange/Outlook Alternatives I'm constantly asked for recommendations on VIABLE alternatives to the MS Outlook/Exchange groupware system. Let's face it: Exchange is expensive, and does a lot of things that most of my SMB customers will never need. I've seen a few different products, but have yet to find one that integrates and works as well as Outlook with an Exchange server. Do you guys have any ideas on substitutes. The main core features that most SMB's use would be the scheduling/calendaring , POP/IMAP email, and address book. It'd be nice to have the whole lot integrated, but seperate products with a good UI would do. The email and address book clients are easy enough to find, but what about calendaring? Something with the ability to both share an office calendar, and have seperate (but viewable) calendars for each worker. Editor priveleges for a secretary on specific calendars would be a plus, as well. To complicate it a bit further, how about something that would work on a peer-to-peer network (< 10 PC's) with no dedicated server? Any thoughts? Yí¶‹Z6zm 6w& '{lמu(@A:w-i0mà«^req& Want to unsub? Do that here: http://www.w2knews.com/rd/rd.cfm?id=unsub Need a good FAQ? Try this one first: http://www.ultratech-llc.com/KB/
