LinuxIT News

LinuxIT forecasts a significant increase in the adoption of Linux- and open-source-based e-mail servers. The most field-proven of those, Scalix, is set to capture a significant market share over the coming months and will serve to further embed Linux within the enterprise.

Simon Mitchell, Strategic Accounts Manager at LinuxIT, said “as organizations balk at the upgrade costs, hardware requirements, and hassles of jumping to the latest version of Exchange, we are being inundated with enquiries about open source alternatives.”

In the past, the superior functionality and integrated benefits in the Microsoft email and messaging platform have often outweighed the cost and management advantages associated with Linux mail servers. But things have changed.

“The functional disparity between Scalix and Exchange has been significantly eroded”, claims Mitchell. Scalix delivers premier enterprise collaboration for standalone and hosting environments, no longer simply reducing the cost and complexity of messaging but also providing a rock solid group collaboration solution. “Client’s no longer have to compromise with Linux; what they’ve come to expect from Exchange is now right there in Scalix”, said Mark Redding, LinuxIT Consultant Engineer.

The only remaining impediment to Linux mail server adoption is perhaps the perceived disruption and administration learning curve associated with the migration. “This has proven time and time again to be ill founded”, said Mitchell. “Together with the expertise of qualified Scalix and Exchange engineers from LinuxIT, organizations are finding that the automated tools provided by Scalix make for a swift and painless transition”.

Scalix has recently trumpeted its migration tools designed to reliably migrate all mailboxes, messages, public folders, calendars, and directory data from clients existing mail system. Importantly, the migration process now ensures full mailbox and message fidelity and message reply-ability.

Watch this space for coming case studies of organisations taking the plunge.

Simon James