Zimbra Features and Comparison with Qmail

The Zimbra Collaboration suit is more than just email, it provides a rich set of email, calendar, contacts, IM, and documents, with full cross-platform support. Native integration on Windows, Macs, and Linux desktops allows everyone to be productive.

Key features of Zimbra Collaboration Suit are following:

Split Zimbra-Internal-External deployment

For organizations with heterogeneous end-user base, Zimbra could be the best mailing solution. Zimbra can be configured on External and internal servers in order to serve mails to the users with or without internet access in the organization.  The local server connects with the remote server to fetch mails from the remote server which serves the users without internet access.

Collaboration tools

Address Book

Contacts can be centralized from the desktop and mobile devices all in Zimbra and easily managed within Zimbra’s web address book.

• Use Tags to mark important contacts and automatically see messages in different colors when you receive their messages
• Email compose auto completes contacts from personal or global address lists (GAL)
• Easily share Address Books and contacts with peers
• Multiple Address Books per user
• Contact Card or List views
• Address Book sharing
• Address Book color-coding
• Drag/drop contacts across Address Books
• Browse by first letter
• Search within Address Books
• Internal/external/public sharing
• Import/export contacts
• REST interface (CSV, vCard)

Calendar

Zimbra’s personal and group calendar offers advanced scheduling and free-busy times with drag and drop functionality.

• View multiple schedules as overlays
• Complete resource and group scheduling with delegated access
• Microsoft Exchange and Outlook compatibility
• Group scheduling
• Free/Busy
• Resource scheduling
• Resource attribute search
• Alerts
• Internal/external/public sharing
• Publish/subscribe
• Multiple calendars with overlay views
• Color-coding
• Inline create/drag appt
• Inline accept/decline
• Quick add appt from any context
• Mini-cal with hovers
• REST interface (iCalendar)

Briefcase

Any application or file from your Briefcase can be quickly shared with peers inside or out of your organization. With a few simple clicks any file you need is always at your fingertips in the office, home or on the road.

• One click application sharing including email folders, contacts, calendars and files
• Quickly send and receive files from your Briefcase via email
• Delegate access and management rights to peers
• Manage sharing history
• Upload files and access them from any browser and share with others

Tasks List

• Create and track multiple “To Dos” lists,
• Share your tasks lists with others

Sharing Model

• Share with: Internal, External, or Public
• Share with individuals or Distro Lists
• Consistent model across applications

Best in class Search

Conduct fast, powerful searches across all data and files stored on the server- email, events, contacts, tasks and documents, plus:

• Save favorite searches as always-up-to-date “virtual folders”
• Use Search Builder to easily make searches by date, domain, keyword and more
• Search within over 200 attachment types

Integrations

Zimlets

Zimlets are a framework for integrating Zimbra’s web email and collaboration experience with third party data sources to create new “mash-up” user interfaces or brand new application Tabs. They save end users time by condensing common tasks, which typically force them to open multiple applications, into simple contextual ones within Zimbra.

Zimbra ships with a default of Zimlets on the server plus new ones can be easily created and deployed by customers to integrate Zimbra with back office systems or custom workflows.

Corporate Mailing Solution

Zimbra desktop

The Zimbra Web Client is a fully integrated AJAX application with capabilities extending beyond what is possible in traditional desktop clients. Key advantages of Zimbra web email and collaboration:

• Improved end user productivity
• Same user experience across all desktops
• Easily customize and add new applications
• Reduced help desk support costs

Unified Messaging System

Zimbra has developed a Unified Messaging Zimlet that allows users to quickly launch calls, conference calls and to access voice mail from within the Zimbra Collaboration Suite. Zimbra’s Unified Messaging Zimlet leverages the SIP protocol, an open standards based protocol, thereby providing Zimbra’s customers will have the maximum choice of VoIP providers.

The initial offering of Zimbra Unified Messaging is based on a partnership with Asterisk, the leading open source VoIP provider.

Mobility: Zimbra allows integration with all smart phones and Blackberry devices.  Users can access ZCS using BlackBerry mobile devices as ZCB is a plug-in that enables synchronization.

100% managed service

i2k2 Networks Provide 100% managed services for Zimbra Collaboration Suit hosting.

Open source benefits

Zimbra OSS version is free to download and use. There is no licensing cost involved for using the application. Not only this, but also, all the updates for Zimbra OSS version are provided free of cost hence, total cost of ownership (TCO) while meeting all requirements is very less for Zimbra as compared to any other solutions.

Security features

The ZCS natively includes Spam Assassin and the DSPAM filter for spam protection (can be turned on/off). There is no hidden licensing involved for any Anti Virus / Anti Spam.