Zimbra & VMWare

Zimbra is related, in a roundabout way, to Novell issues. Namely, it's a BIG competitor to GroupWise.  With VMWare as it's parent company and it's favored status in Europe, it's claiming market share quite easily.

I just got done with a VMWare webinar on Zimbra, and I must say I'm quite impressed.  Assuming that it does everything they say it can do; reality is ofttimes much different from test beds after all.

I like the fact that it has native support for smart devices - including BES - and that they developed the web client first, later providing the "fat" client for mobile users.  It works on Macs - including iPads - and Linux too.  This could be a real boon for schools.  The licensing is attractively priced and it's designed for virtual environments.  Very cool!

It's easy enough my Mom (poor Mom!) could use it, and powerful enough for everything I'd need.  I really like the file sharing features too, which would fit very well into the needs of many of my end-users.  Kind of like a morph of iFolder and DocXchanger with a very intuitive interface.

Maybe I should just apply for their Community Development Manager spot...I'm starting to sound a bit like an evangelist.  I seem to know what user groups like and need from their vendors; at least I think I do.