[url=http://www.cemaphore.com/mailshadow_g.php]Cemaphore’s MailShadowG[/url] make an interesting proposition, replace Exchange with Gmail. I’m not sure exactly how it works, but it claims to “synchronize Microsoft Outlook with a trusted Internet email provider like Google, by mapping the repository that exists in Exchange (for email, calendaring and contacts) to [Gmail]”. That statement alone is certainly compelling, but it asks as many questions as it answers.
- Where does your MX record live? Do you repoint to Google’s business mail service?
- How would this possibly pass SOX compliance given the advertising strategy of Gmail (read your mail and serve up relevant ads)?
- Compliance aside, do you really want the risk of IP leaving the company with no audit trail?
- How do you setup resources? As far as I know there’s no function to support conference rooms in GMail.
- What happens to ActiveSync “push”? Are you relegated to pop3?
- Regardless of how it does what is says it does, what potential advantages does it offer over the [url=http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2008/mar08/03-02AllSizeBusinessesPR.mspx] Microsoft hosted offering[/url]?
