GroupWise 6 broadens reach

Novell recently introduced Version 6 of its GroupWise messaging and collaboration product. In addition to giving the product some interesting new features, Novell has taken a novel approach with its pricing and market strategies.

The traditional licensing model for messaging systems is to sell licenses for the mailbox, not the access device. With GroupWise 6, however, Novell is now offering a significantly less expensive license for Web-based and wireless users. At an anticipated price of $30 per Web/wireless user, GroupWise 6 is less expensive for them than similarly configured Lotus Notes and Microsoft Exchange environments.

Novell hopes GroupWise 6 will significantly expand its market base to include users not normally thought of as messaging users, such as retail workers and in-the-field airline employees, as well as users that may be able to access messaging services only through kiosks or similar access devices. Also, since GroupWise 6 features Notes and Exchange gateways, Novell hopes to capture a significant share of the " deskless access " business. The company anticipates that organizations will continue to support Notes and Exchange while providing Web and wireless access through GroupWise.

GroupWise 6 supports a variety of wireless access devices, including Windows CE, Palm, Wireless Access Protocol and Research in Motion. The Web and wireless interfaces can be customized by administrators to provide only some features to particular users. For example, calendaring can be limited to specific accounts. GroupWise 6 supports Secure Sockets Layer for all SMTP-based communications, and Novell has added S/MIME V3 support to the product. GroupWise 6 will ship initially in 10 different languages, but the company plans to offer it in at least 21 languages.

Novell claims that GroupWise 6 supports significantly higher user loads. The company claims that a high-end Intel-based server can support an average of 2,000 users. This level of server loading can help to reduce the cost of ownership through reduced hardware and administrator expenses.

All in all, GroupWise 6, particularly its deskless-access features and aggressive pricing, warrants a serious look for organizations looking to expand e-mail access to nontraditional users.

Michael D. Osterman is the principal of Osterman Research, a market research firm that helps organizations understand the markets for messaging, directory and related products and services. He can be reached by clicking here.

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