Review: Insight Server 4.2

Bynaris Insight Server 4.2 strikes a good balance between being an open platform and providing a low-cost groupware option. With a cost of $27 per user for Insight Server, Insight Connector and Insight WebClient, Bynari provides a well-priced solution for companies looking to provide groupware for Outlook users.

Click here to read the full review of Bynaris Insight Server 4.2.

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Bynaris Insight Server 4.2 strikes a good balance between being an open platform and providing a low-cost groupware option. With a cost of $27 per user for Insight Server, Insight Connector and Insight WebClient, Bynari provides a well-priced solution for companies looking to provide groupware for Outlook users.

The lack of a fully automated remote client distribution mechanism will limit Insight Servers viability in many organizations, but companies that can live with this shortcoming will appreciate the number of open-source, anti-spam and anti-virus products bundled with the server, including AMaViS (A Mail Virus Scanner), ClamAV (Clam AntiVirus) and SpamAssassin. Company officials said the next version of Insight Connector, due later this month, will include remote distribution capabilities.

/zimages/7/28571.gifRead morehereabout flexible messaging and collaboration options.

Companies can also use the embedded open-source Web mail client, SquirrelMail, as a lower-cost alternative to Insights own Insight WebClient, which has an $11-per-client license fee. One benefit of SquirrelMail is that its PHP-based, giving companies a way to customize its look and feel. However, SquirrelMail doesnt provide some of the groupware features available through Insight WebClient.

Insight Server publishes Internet free/busy information on the server separate from the mail file, so users can access calendar information from other clients. Insight Connector translates groupware features on Insight Server—including group calendars, delegates, and shared folders and tasks—in a way that Outlook understands. There are some subtle differences in the way the connector works when it comes to managing delegates, however. For example, we could share access to an in-box, but we could not send e-mail on behalf of someone else. A delegate user can work around this by manually changing the “from” address when forwarding or replying to an e-mail in a shared in-box.

We liked the administrative tools on Insight Server and found it easy to perform routine operations, such as backing up mail files, and not-so-routine operations, such as restoring mail files.

Next page: Evaluation Shortlist: Related Products.

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EVALUATION SHORTLIST
Bynaris Insight Server 4.2 Offers well-integrated open-source tools but lacks an automated deployment feature (www.bynari.com)
CommuniGate Systems CommuniGate Pro Real-Time Collaboration 4.3 Broadly extensible, with a wide range of groupware features (www.communigate.com)
Gordanos Gordano Messaging Suite 11 Provides a well-integrated suite of messaging tools but is not as extensible as its competitors (www.gordano.com)
IBMs IBM Lotus Domino 6.5 Enterprise groupware with database-driven applications (www.ibm.com)
Microsofts Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Defines groupware in the Outlook world and allows forms-based applications in Outlook (www.microsoft.com)
Scalixs Scalix Server 9.2.1 Brings good Exchange and Outlook feature fidelity to Linux and Outlook users, with an excellent Web mail interface (www.scalix.com)

Technical Analyst Michael Caton can be reached at michael_caton@ziffdavis.com.

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