Zimbra License Forever

[Nox71]

I would like to buy Zimbra Network Edition for one year but after that i don't want to have to renew my license forever. I am a system integrator so i don't want to pay for support every year for using this software in my company but the guy at Zimbra said to me that if i don't renew my license i will revert back to the opensource edition and lose my Outlook connector function. Man M$ should be advise that they are not the hungriest software seller in the world because i know another company that is worse. It's not an antivirus software i am buying that i have to renew every year it's a replacement for my Microsoft Exchange server and with M$ i didn't have to renew my license each year.

So now it's just an opinion !

[jholder]

Nox,
Thanks for your interest. We do not presume to speak for sales, and you're really gonna have to direct your questions to sales@zimbra.com

-john

[phoenix]

I would like to know if someone know a kind of legal workaround for that i mean that i could buy my first year on support but after that i would like not to renew my license and and not lose my Outlook Connector.

You really must be joking asking a question like that! How do you expect Zimbra to stay in business if they give all of their software away? Some questions that get asked just leave me speechless, this is one of those times. Sheesh.

Well, almost speechless. Seriously, if you have a problem with the business model, take it up with Sales or Zimbra management.

[Nox71]

Just edited my post so now it's just an opinion and by the way i have already speak to the sales so stop asking me to do that

[James Brinkerhoff]

Some reasons why the software is worth paying for...

1) Support. You might think you're the hottest admin in the world... You still won't know Zimbra's product as well as they know it. And they know it *well*. As I've said to others, its the support team that sells me on the software time and time again.

2) Continued Updates... Thats also what you're paying for year after year.. And Zimbra is in *very* active development.

3) Quite frankly... This is a business we're talking about here... People need to be paid for their hard work when they sign up with an employer with the intention of being able to feed themselves and their family.. It'd be a wonderful world if everyone produced software, etc just because they loved doing it, and asked nothing of anyone else but their enjoyment... Sadly, thats not where we are yet, and needing to earn money is still a fact of life.

4) This is a rather lame argument, I admit.. but look at most any other major software vendor. Support+Updates is generally a yearly expense.. And you want the updates regardless if you think you'd care about support. What happens when "M$" decides to put out outlook 2012 Ultra Mega edition and you just *have* to upgrade and thus you need a new connector to support all those Ultra Mega features.. :P

In any case.. if outlook support is all you find useful about the additional NE functionality... You should seriously consider ditching outlook in favor of something else.

[Dirk]

In any case.. if outlook support is all you find useful about the additional NE functionality... You should seriously consider ditching outlook in favor of something else.

A very valid point, but unless I'm mistaked, there no way to use a portable device such as an iPaq with zimbra without going through outlook. For portable devices, it's not a case of wanting to use outlook, it a case of needing to.

[bhickey]

Well, I probably shouldn't chime in on this, but here goes. . .

1. I too would like to be able to buy software and not have it expire (i.e., not be crippled at the end of the maintenance agreement). I believe that is a reasonable expectation. Perhaps Zimbra is willing to at least revisit that portion of the license?

2. I would also like it very much if Zimbra gave away their Network Edition, but I'm not sure that is reasonable expectation. After all, they are in business to make money. This seems to be a constant balancing act for companies making and using open source components (e.g., MySQL). All in all, Zimbra seems to have found a happy medium.

3. At the end of the day, no one forces you to use Zimbra. You're free to use Exchange, Scalix, or any other product out there. You can even roll your own using the available open source components. However, I believe the value added in a product like Zimbra is the team of committed individuals who handle all the messy details of integrating these open source (and commercial) pieces into a single, rather well-tuned product. Indeed, there is value.

4. My company uses the Network Edition of Zimbra. For what we get, the price structure is quite fair. I toyed with the idea of rolling my own e-mail system (postfix, cyrus, etc.), but decided that I didn't want to spend 100% of my time dealing with nothing but e-mail. Also, being a one-person I.T. department, I cannot possibly compete with the ever-increasing feature set Zimbra is able to offer.

So, is the Zimbra business model faithful to both the spirit of open source and to the investors of the company? For the most part, yes it is. Very few companies provide anything near to the support that Zimbra does for their open source edition (i.e., the free edition). Just check out the number of posts to the forums answered by Zimbra employees.

[LinuxProphet]

Hi. I have just recently joined your great forum. I noted that a comment was passed that iPaq requires Outlook. I personally dont go anywhere near M$ stuff (with the exception of Windows Mobiles for testing).

The HP iPaq 6340 I use connects to the Zimbra server and can send/recieve emails and contacts. Even with full blown SSL and SMTP authentication.

Just a little info.

Meanwhile, I have my own woes. I have deployed a server in Germany and am testing in... wait for it... Nigeria. It is embarrasingly slooowww. Both the Web logins, and the iPaq take forever to connect.

I want to assume it isn't my bandwidth in DeutschLand as I can download a 4.3 Gig DVD ISO in 13 minutes.

Please advise.

[RyecoAaron]

Nox71, I would just be glad there is a free version. As for what you are paying for, you are paying for support. Most of the software Zimbra is made up of is free software. So, don't look at it like buying an operating system. That support you are paying for developed the Outlook connector and user interface. This is an ongoing job that does not stop at the end of the year of support you purchased.

[Klug]

Meanwhile, I have my own woes. I have deployed a server in Germany and am testing in... wait for it... Nigeria. It is embarrasingly slooowww. Both the Web logins, and the iPaq take forever to connect.
Please advise.

You should open a new thread for that.

As you say, problem is not in Germany but simply between Germany and Nigeria.

Take a look at this document (two years old, I know, but it gives an idea) : http://www.idrc.ca/uploads/user-S/11...901Page_32.pdf
Bandwidth for _whole_ Nigeria was 200 Kbps.