Zarafa

Groupware software is deeply integrated with a company's business processes. For this reason – depending on the system used and on user behavior – Groupware migration projects can be of a similar complexity as ERP systems. Especially the switch to different client software may keep IT decision-makers and system administrators awake at night, because the costs associated with additional training and initially lower employee productivity may add up to a considerable sum.

The open source Groupware solution Zarafa makes child's play of migration projects. Zarafa's use of the MAPI open standard makes the software compatible with every Outlook version from 2000 to 2010, allowing companies to benefit from the advantages of both solutions: the flexibility and efficiency of an open source back-end combined with the familiar, intuitive Outlook client as the front-end. Zarafa's cached mode will provide access to emails while on the road or offline. Zarafa enables users to work with ActiveSync-compatible devices via the open source project Z-Push, while the MAPI implementation also allows for the integration of Blackberry Enterprise Servers. With Zarafa Webaccess access to emails, calendars, contacts, tasks as well as to shared and public folders is also possible using a web browser. The additional AJAX tool "WebApp" goes even further by bringing an Outlook "look and feel" to the browser.

Extensive Integration

Zarafa not only offers impressive integration capabilities by making use of the MAPI standard, it also plays well with existing authentication mechanisms such as Active Directory and LDAP. New users are synchronized in real-time to the Zarafa database. Administrative settings like mailbox storage limits or email aliases can be customized using schema extensions within the domain.

POP3/IMAP Support

Zarafa will not only allow access to mailboxes using MAPI. It also provides a gateway for POP3 and IMAP access, making the system compatible with almost any email client on the market. Zarafa will continuously synchronize mails. By allowing POP3 and IMAP clients access to the same mail store as Outlook clients, duplicate data on different systems becomes a thing of the past.

Modern Database Technology

For its central data repository Zarafa makes use of MySQL. This will ensure excellent scalability when working with large amounts of data, while at the same time enabling good performance with large mailboxes. By applying the single-instance storage principle, Zarafa will store a single unique instance of emails and their attachments. Attachments are stored in the file system.

Zarafa is a flexible and cost-effective Groupware solution which offers full Outlook integration. As a certified Zarafa partner, it-novum offers consulting and interface implementation services as well as comprehensive support. With our many years experience working with both proprietary and open source Groupware systems, we can assist you with your migration projects, taking care of both server migration and client roll-out.