Is zimbra as good as exchange?

[slasko]

Hi Zimbra users

I have a small company (2 users) and was wondering if Zimbra the open source edition can be used in the same way as an exchange server can?

What I need:

1. Singe point of email storage, so that when I log on to my different computers the email client will always be up to date an in synch.

2. Calendar sharing like in exchange would be nice.

3. Ability to view webmail from any computer in the world.

[mmorse]

Originally Posted by slasko

I have a small company (2 users) and was wondering if Zimbra the open source edition can be used in the same way as an exchange server can?

We like to think it's far better

You can compare editions to see what's not in FOSS. (Some Zimbra vs Exchange webinar comparisons here.) There's also a 15 user NE license option not in that list: Zimbra Starter Edition & if administration is not your thing there's also hosting partners available.

Originally Posted by slasko

1. Singe point of email storage, so that when I log on to my different computers the email client will always be up to date an in synch.

Yup. Of course that depends what you're using for a client, but Zimbra Desktop syncs all your email/contacts/tasks/documents/briefcase items etc. ZCO & iSync (for Outlook & Apple sync respectively) include a lot of those as well. Obviously with a standard IMAP thick-client you're limited to just mail (and less sync with POP) but there are things the community has developed like Zindus for Thunderbird (which even syncs shared address books with Zimbra) & even an Evolution connector.

Originally Posted by slasko

2. Calendar sharing like in exchange would be nice.

Most definitely (both Zimbra & non-Zimbra external users) - checkout zimbra.com/products/zimbra_calendar.html (The internal sharing utilizes the same UI of course & server.domain.com/home/username/calendar.html is easy to share or you can provide calendar.ics links)

Originally Posted by slasko

3. Ability to view webmail from any computer in the world.

Of course! (As long as your server parts are accessible wherever you're at - but that's a given.)
The AJAX client, HTML client, & Mobile (from Mobile-web client & J2ME to MobileSync if you go NE) zimbra.com/products/zimbra_mobile.html