Exchange Replacement

[bpasdar]

Hello,

I have played with the Community Version of Scalix 10 for a few month now as a personal messaging platform. I like it -- a lot!

I am now ready for the next step to transition my company from MS-Exchnage. My engineers are looking at upgrading to Exchange 2007. I want to explore alternatives. The reason is:

1. Dependencies - I am frustrated with how using exchange forces the implementation of AD, Microsoft DNS, and WINS. If I suggest alternatives the MS-Heads come back and tell me that they cannot guarantee the results.

2. Complexity - I have a 50 person operation and I am so far 8 servers deep into an exchange platform! It surely can be simpler than this, no?

3. Reliability - The systems have all kinds of availability issues, and there is always something breaking, not always with Exchange, but with a dependent component. I would like better availability.

4. Cost of Ownership - I would like to think that a Groupware system for a 50 person company would not require a full time admin to burp it like a baby. It is not everyday, but if ignored (the overall system Exchange & dependent systems) for a few days it goes out of it's way to remind you it is there.

5. The Gates Factor - We rolled out with our first 2K/AD environment in 2001. Since then everyone who came in has looked at their predecessor's setup and said the same thing. Something along the line of: What was the last guy thinking, this does not work right because it was not designed right. Then they ask for more servers, software, licensing, and time. I am on my third generation of Windows/Exchange infrastructure and I have heard the same thing over and over again. I am looking for a system that is not so complex to design that everyone thinks they can manage it, but I have not met someone that can actually do it.

With the above noted I am hoping someone can help me with the following:

1. How well does Scalix 11 integrate into AD? Is it seamless? Are there performance, reliability or connectivity issues?

2. How well does Scalix 11 function with Outlook for e-mail, contacts, Scheduling and tasks. Nothing fancy just the basics. What should I be concerned about here?

3. How well does Scalix 11 work in Migrating data from Exchange 2003? Is anything lost. Is the migration transparent?

4. How well does Scalix 11 work with Interoperating with Exchange 2003. That is both on the same network and exchanging (no-pun) info between each other.

5. How well does the notify Mobile client work with Scalix.

Please forgive me on the questions and commentary, but I feel that I must do this due diligence.

I thank you for responses to any or all questions.

Sincerely,

Babak

[florian]

Hi Babak,

thanks for your post. I believe many of our customers and users interested in replacing (or nt starting to use) Exchange are facing the exact same challenges with Microsoft's product. Actually, if you look at our website, you will find a whitepaper called "7 reasons to exchange Exchange" or so, and it will mirror your concerns.

On your questions - I believe it might make sense for you to work with our sales team and/or one of our partners. The exact way to engage with us will depend on your location - are you located in Europe, North America or somewhere else? We can provide service almost anywhere around the globe, either through ourselves or through partnerships. you can contact me using personal message and/or email to <myfirstname>@scalix.com and I'll forward appropriately.

> 1. How well does Scalix 11 integrate into AD? Is it seamless? Are there performance, reliability or connectivity issues?

The UI looks pretty similar to how Exchange modifies the Users+Computers UI; we also provide Single Sign On integration for AD and Outlook.

> 2. How well does Scalix 11 function with Outlook for e-mail, contacts, Scheduling and tasks. Nothing fancy just the basics. What should I be concerned about here?

You should not see any difference to how you would work with Exchange. We do not support server-based forms, journaling and s/mime encryption, but few people use that.

> 3. How well does Scalix 11 work in Migrating data from Exchange 2003? Is anything lost. Is the migration transparent?

We can preserve all data contained in users mailboxes and we can create user accounts from the data kept in AD. We cannot preserve all configuration settings and user profiles, however, we provide tools to make this easier. Our professional services team and partners specialize in making this particular migration as seemless as possible.

> 4. How well does Scalix 11 work with Interoperating with Exchange 2003. That is both on the same network and exchanging (no-pun) info between each other.

That works find. You cannot exchange free/busy data at this time and you cannot share folders between the systems, i.e. for delegate access, both the principal and the delegate must be on the same server. However, due to the Scalix TNEF gateway, interoperability on the message level is very complete, so you can assign tasks, have meeting invitations flowing around and also your address books will sync. We also provide limited cross-platform updates for Public Folders, but that's not really perfect.

> 5. How well does the notify Mobile client work with Scalix.

This needs further discussion and it largely depends on what kind of device you're planning to use as well as what level of functionality your users require. We have multiple staged solutions for Mobile email and calendar access.

Hope this helps,
Florian.