Zimbra Goes Offline with Zimbra Desktop
SAN MATEO, Calif., March 27 /- Zimbra, the leader in open source, next-generation collaboration and messaging software, today announced the launch of Zimbra Desktop, a rich offline-capable client that allows users to have the same AJAX-based collaboration experience as offered by Zimbra's popular web-only client. Zimbra will unveil Zimbra Desktop on stage today at the O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference (ETech) in San Diego, CA.
"The introduction of Zimbra Desktop means that Windows, Linux, and Mac users worldwide are no longer dependent on Internet connectivity for rich, browser-based access to Zimbra's collaboration platform," said Satish Dharmaraj, CEO, Zimbra. "The universal access that Zimbra Desktop provides represents a critical achievement; today AJAX-based Web 2.0 technologies are available no matter where a user is -- at the office, on the road, or even in the air."
Zimbra Desktop will allow users to access their email, calendar, contacts, and documents while on the road, or in places without a network connection, through the familiar AJAX-based user interface of Zimbra Web. When users come back online, all the changes while made offline, such as composing, replying to, deleting, editing or moving messages, appointments, contacts or documents, will synchronize with the Zimbra server and mobile devices.
"Century 21 agents spend many hours a day away from their reliable office network connections," said Marge Patterson, Vice President of CENTURY 21 Realty Group Companies. "The introduction of Zimbra Desktop allows us to continue reducing our dependence on Microsoft Outlook while retaining the superior Zimbra collaboration platform that we can now use wherever and whenever we need it."
"Ubuntu is committed to providing the best desktop experience in the world," said Mark Shuttleworth, Founder of the Ubuntu Project. "The Zimbra Desktop client will not only enhance the usability features of the world-class Zimbra Collaboration Suite, but will also provide the Ubuntu community with another compelling application for their desktop of choice."
Additional benefits of Zimbra Desktop include:
o Zimbra's web-based experience, featuring conversation views, tagging,
and powerful search, is an innovative leap forward in desktop
application usability
o Users are no longer forced to make jarring switches between different
application interfaces because the web and desktop are unified
o Work is never interrupted by server latency or sudden outages because
Zimbra Desktop goes from online to offline mode seamlessly and automatically
o Faster search, better rich mail rendering, and a self-organizing inbox
are more adept handling larger email volumes than traditional clients
o Significantly reduced administration overhead managing and maintaining
local files; they are synced to the Zimbra server where they can be safeguarded
o Future versions will connect multiple accounts, including those on a
Zimbra server and/or external POP/IMAP servers
o Supports Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems such as Ubuntu and
Red Hat out of the gate
o Compatibility with leading browsers such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari
o Zimbra Desktop is open source and does not require incremental investment overhead or have the lock-in associated with proprietary email clients
"Intel is excited to see Zimbra leading the charge in taking rich web applications offline," said Jason Powell of Intel Software and Solutions Group. "Browser-based applications like Zimbra show off the power of today's fastest processors in both Apple and PC computers, and they deliver the best possible end user experience."
Pricing and Availability
The Zimbra Desktop Alpha is now available as a download from www.zimbra.com/desktop , and works with the Zimbra Collaboration Suite (ZCS) 4.5+.
The ZCS 4.5 Open Source Edition is free. The commercially-supported ZCS Network Edition is available for a 60-day free trial on the Zimbra Website. ZCS 4.5 Network Edition pricing starts at $25/mailbox/year for a minimum of 25 users for the Standard Edition, which includes product support as well as software subscriptions to new releases, updates and patches. Additional discounts are available for larger organizations.
ZCS is available on-premise or as a hosted service; for information about Zimbra deployment as a service or Zimbra's hosting partner program, please visit www.zimbra.com/partners/. Users can discuss topics related to the Zimbra Collaboration Suite and provide feedback at www.zimbra.com/forums/.
About Zimbra
Zimbra is the leading provider of open source collaboration and messaging software for enterprises, service providers, educational institutions, and government agencies. The Zimbra Collaboration Suite features an AJAX Administrative user interface and browser based client to dramatically improve the messaging and collaboration experience for administrators and end users alike. Zimbra supports Windows, Apple, and Linux desktops and works with Microsoft Outlook as well as today's most essential PC and mobile devices including the Blackberry, Treo and Motorola Q. Additionally, Zimbra supports popular server operating systems such as Red Hat, Mac, Ubuntu, SUSE, Fedora and more. The Zimbra Collaboration Suite was voted Best Enterprise Project in the inaugural 2006 SourceForge.net Community Choice Awards, received a SIIA Codie award for Best Communication or Collaboration Solution and won InfoWorld's 2007 Application Innovator Technology of the Year Award. More information and software downloads are available at www.zimbra.com/ .
Source: Zimbra, Inc.
Web site: www.zimbra.com/
