Zentyal, developer of easy IT solutions for small business, has announced that it will be the first provider in the world to offer a native Microsoft Exchange replacement. The first Technology Preview of this solution was presented during Zentyal Summit 2013, held on 3 and 4 October, and it is freely available for download and testing starting from today. The first stable version of this implementation will be published as part of the Zentyal Linux Server in December 2013.
“Over 60% of the on-premise business mailboxes run on Microsoft Exchange Server. Starting from today, Zentyal is the only 100% compatible native alternative for these users” said Ignacio Correas, CEO of Zentyal, and continued “It’s a historic moment, not only because a second supplier has entered in the Exchange market, but because from now on there is guarantee of continued innovation and competition, which will enable end customers to always have the best solutions for their business.”
Since the discontinuation of the Microsoft Small Business Server product family, that included Microsoft Exchange Server, SMB customers have been left without viable alternatives to the on-premises mail server. Thanks to the solution offered by Zentyal, these companies can migrate their Microsoft Exchange servers transparently to fully supported Zentyal servers without any interruption or change for their users, because the Microsoft Outlook clients are unable to perceive the difference between one server or other. Besides the technical advantages, this new technology offered by Zentyal provides SMBs economic benefits, as it ensures an average of 50-85% cost savings when compared to Microsoft.
The technologies integrated by Zentyal –Samba4 and OpenChange– that make possible to offer an alternative to Microsoft Active Directory and Microsoft Exchange have been developed at accelerated pace since 2007 when Microsoft was convicted for abuse of its dominant position in the market by the European Commission and European Court of Justice. Due to a series of decisions, Microsoft was forced to release documentation necessary to develop compatible software solutions and it began collaborating with the developers of these alternative technologies.
“The technologies that enable native interoperability with Microsoft Active Directory and Microsoft Exchange protocols are mature and in use at enterprise level. However, thanks to the ease of use of Zentyal, these technologies are now put for the first time to the use of SMBs” said Julien Kerihuel, CTO of Zentyal and Founder of OpenChange. “Migrating a Microsoft Exchange server to Zentyal requires only completing three simple steps through a graphical interface. It is unique in the world.”
Channel opportunities
To reach the SMB market, Zentyal trusts on the distribution channel, on which the company bases its business model. “Partners are in a key position in our business strategy. This launch opens new business opportunities for the IT support and service providers and naturally, we offer their SMB customers the flexibility to choose which option best suits their needs” says Ignacio Correas, CEO of Zentyal.
Zentyal’s bet for a hybrid model does not oblige the customer to choose a pure cloud service. Since the discontinuation of Microsoft Small Business Server, there is a growing push to take the resellers to the cloud. However, the reality is that 85% of the Microsoft Exchange installations are not on the cloud. In addition, the on-premises server market is expected to continue growing, with 108 million new, non-cloud Exchange users in the next five years.
Zentyal offers the channel control over the technology through its commitment to the hybrid model, with more security and migration options. Thus, IT support and service providers can choose the alternative that best suits them and their customers.
Hispaweb Network, the first hosting provider to choose Zentyal
The first Technology Preview of Zentyal’s native Microsoft Exchange replacement has already started to harvest its first commercial successes. Proof of this is the agreement Zentyal has signed with Hispaweb Network, Spanish hosting provider, that has decided to bet on Zentyal to offer their SMB customers an alternative to Hosted Microsoft Exchange.
“Our goal is to achieve excellence in serving our customers,” said Juan Rojas, Technical Director of Hispaweb “and to that end, we will continue to always stay guided by a philosophy of continuous improvement and by providing the most innovative solutions.”
Hispaweb Network provides infrastructure services for professionals. The company specializes on dedicated servers, housing and virtualization solutions. Hispaweb Network offers their customers a wide range of solutions adapted to their specific needs, always backed by highly qualified technical support and services.
Features of the first Technology Preview
This first Technology Preview allows to configure Zentyal Server as an on-premise Microsoft Exchange Server replacement with only two clicks and assign users the most common Microsoft Exchange services just as easily. Users can access these services through a web interface, or continue to use Microsoft Outlook clients as usual without having to install any additional software or plug-in on their computers.
The first Technology Preview offers compatibility with Microsoft Outlook 2003 and preliminary access to calendars, contacts, mail and calendar via webmail. Since this is a native implementation of Microsoft Exchange, users can not distinguish if their Microsoft Outlook client is using Microsoft Exchange Server or Zentyal.
To test this first Technology Preview, you can find the detailed instructions on the following address:
http://laboratory.zentyal.org/install-configure-zentyals-technology-preview-of-native-ms-exchange-replacement/
The first stable version of this implementation will be published as part of the Zentyal Linux Server 3.3 in December 2013.
More information
Video “Zentyal: Microsoft Exchange Replacement” (Commercial Overview) by Ignacio Correas, CEO, Zentyal
http://youtu.be/jciPmkn2XmI
Video “Zentyal: Microsoft Exchange Replacement” (Technical Overview) by Julien Kerihuel, CTO, Zentyal
http://youtu.be/0wofpK5ux7Y
Instructions (video, slides, how-to) for downloading and configuring this Technology Preview
http://laboratory.zentyal.org/install-configure-zentyals-technology-preview-of-native-ms-exchange-replacement/