Vendors up server offerings

Mail server vendors on both sides of the Atlantic announced significant enhancements to their respective offerings. They join CommuniGate Systems, which two weeks ago also revved its offering, says ServerWatch.

Zimbra Collaboration Suite 5.0 is particularly significant, as much for the technology it introduces as for the fact that it is Zimbra's first product release since it was bought by Yahoo.

Yahoo and and Zimbra are both in the business of bringing mail to end-users. With this release, the Zimbra end-user interface is decoupled from the backend, and the server is no longer a requirement to use the client.

Two companies are using IBM's open source application server, WebSphere Application Server Community Edition (WAS CE), says InfoWorld.

These companies are Avada and Nexxar. Avada plans to offer its messaging management solutions with WAS CE. Avada also will support the product.

Nexxar, a money transfer company, is using WAS CE for regulatory compliance in global financial services for enterprises and individuals, IBM said.

Microsoft's Windows Home Server has generated a lot of buzz in the channel since last November's launch, but it's going to take several years for consumers to see the value of having a server in the home, says ChannelWeb.

Researchers at Forrester recently suggested that home servers won't begin making significant headway until 2012, when the Boston-based research firm predicts they'll be in use in about 4.6 million US homes.

Microsoft's small business-focused channel partners dealing with a flood of Windows Home Server-related inquiries from customers say this estimate is well off the mark.