Can Open Source Replace Microsoft Exchange?
Linked by David Adams on Thu 28th Aug 2008 17:51 UTC, submitted by stonyandcher
Features, Office Everyone knows that Microsoft Exchange is expensive - but ubiquitous â€" and plenty of open source projects and vendors have been trying a variety of technical approaches to replace it. While none is yet a drop-in replacement, a PC World article looks at ways that some administrators can get a cost advantage by switching.
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RE[4]: My answer is a no.
by DrillSgt on Fri 29th Aug 2008 06:01 UTC in reply to "RE[3]: My answer is a no."
DrillSgt
Member since:
2005-12-02

"So am I to understand that less-than-clear MS page that the Exchange CAL's are valid forever and you only pay for them once?"

The page is quite clear actually, with price lists and everything.

Yes, you only pay for CAL's for a version one time. For example, if you have 50 users, we will keep it small, and are using Exchange 2007, once you buy those CAL's they are good until you upgrade your Exchange, which is normally about every 5 years or so.

With Zimbra, you pay that price per user every year, so over 5 years, it is more expensive than Exchange in per user costs.

Reply Parent Score: 4

RE[5]: My answer is a no.
by lemur2 on Fri 29th Aug 2008 06:27 in reply to "RE[4]: My answer is a no."
lemur2 Member since:
2007-02-17

With Zimbra, you pay that price per user every year, so over 5 years, it is more expensive than Exchange in per user costs.


There are a number of solutions that on the very face of it appear to be more attractive than Zimbra.

Apart from those already mentioned, here is yet another possibility:
http://www.citadel.org/doku.php
"Citadel is here today and is actively maintained - it's neither vaporware nor abandonware.

Citadel is true open source (GPL) software. Unlike other groupware servers, it isn't a cut-down version of an expensive proprietary 'pro' version. We make our very best work available to everyone on the same terms."

No per user fees at all.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/9357
"Microsoft Exchange, Meet Your Replacement

The time has come to consider moving that expensive, high-maintenance Windows system to a sleeker, more robust Linux system.

...

Although migrating users from applications such as Microsoft Office to OpenOffice.org is generally an intuitive task, the 800-pound gorilla that's keeping you up at night is e-mail and groupware. How are you going to provide and manage Microsoft Outlook-like functionality to the masses? In a word, Citadel. "

Edited 2008-08-29 06:33 UTC

Reply Parent Score: 2

RE[5]: My answer is a no.
by Soulbender on Fri 29th Aug 2008 10:36 in reply to "RE[4]: My answer is a no."
Soulbender Member since:
2005-08-18

While that is on the surface a sweet deal it's not the whole story.
You do not get any virus or spam protection with the Exchange CAL's or with Exchange but you have to pay extra for that and it may come at quite a price. Then there's of course the cost of Exchange itself and the cost of the Windows server license and as a company you also want a support contract for Exchange. None of this is cheap.

I'm not saying that Zimbra is the sweetest deal on planet earth but just comparing the cost of the Exchange CALs to the Zimbra licenses isn't an accurate cost comparsion.

Reply Parent Score: 5

RE[6]: My answer is a no.
by DrillSgt on Fri 29th Aug 2008 14:14 in reply to "RE[5]: My answer is a no."
DrillSgt Member since:
2005-12-02

"I'm not saying that Zimbra is the sweetest deal on planet earth but just comparing the cost of the Exchange CALs to the Zimbra licenses isn't an accurate cost comparsion."

True enough, so along with Zimbra go the cost of the server and the RHEL/SLES support license. So if we want to compare, we still can, and is still more expensive. I prefer to deploy CentOS where possible as a server myself, but the fact of the matter for anything truly mission critical, like email, the bosses want to see the support contract. If there is not 24/7 phone support, whether it is ever used or not, you can bet if something *does* happen you may not have a job.

Reply Parent Score: 3

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