This article is part of a series on open-source telecommunications alternatives.
As enterprises migrate to all-IP networks, and cost savings become more important in the economic downturn, open-source messaging software represents an increasingly attractive alternative to Microsoft (MSFT) Exchange. Among other things, open-source messaging platforms offer significant cost savings compared to Exchange. Open-source is also getting prime time exposure thanks to President Obama’s decision to tap Sun Microsystems (JAVA) chairman Scott McNealy to write a white paper on the benefits of open source software for the U.S. government.
But despite new features, added functionality and platforms that are more integrated, don’t expect a mass migration to open-source solutions in the short term.
“The door has been opened to Linux and open-source packages, but the Exchange stronghold is not crumbling,” says Laura DiDio, principal analyst at Information Technology Intelligence Corp. in Concord, Mass.
DiDio’s 2007 study of 1000 Microsoft Exchange users worldwide found that 23 percent of respondents planned to migrate to open-source solutions within the next 12 to 18 months. Almost one-quarter — that’s a high number. Nevertheless, a follow-up survey in late 2008 found that only 5 percent of these same users had actually followed through with their intention to replace Exchange with an open-source solution.
“Open-source is only gaining momentum at the low end and overseas,” says Sara Radicati, CEO of The Radicati Group in Palo Alto, California. “It isn’t really taking share from Exchange.”
Migration Issues
Slowing widespread migration from Exchange is the lack of widespread Linux expertise among U.S. IT staff, in contrast with their extensive Microsoft experience and training. An open-source deployment also frequently requires additional specialized expertise, such as OpenLDAP and OpenSQL skills.
Case in point: The Illinois Prairie Area Library System (PALS) planned to expand a small Microsoft Exchange implementation to support all of the system’s 375 public, school and educational libraries in 27 counties across northern Illinois and eastern Iowa. “Even with an educational discount, Microsoft Exchange exceeded budget requirements,” says Paul Mills, PALS director of technical services.
A key requirement was support for multiple e-mail domains from a single server. Since most PALS libraries maintain their own domain names, 81 different domains must be supported concurrently.
A flexible and easy-to-use browser-based client was another important criterion. Many users share computers, so the Web is the most convenient way to access mail.
After examining several alternatives, PALS selected Zimbra Collaboration Suite, an e-mail and software collaboration solution from Zimbra, a Yahoo subsidiary. The Zimbra community edition, available as a free download, provides PALS with e-mail, calendaring and document sharing.
For PALS IT staff, which has extensive Linux expertise, installation and support have not proven difficult. However, the same would not necessarily be true for commercial enterprises where Linux expertise is far less common and expensive retraining would be required.