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Zimbra Improves with Sharing, Device Compatibility

Troy Dreier

9/27/2006
Zimbra Inc., the company behind the all-in-one hosted messaging and collaboration suite of the same name, has just released the product's 4.0 version. An already strong product, it's now even more useful with online document creation and mobile device compatibility.

Zimbra, based in San Mateo, Calif., was founded three years ago. It provides customers with a browser-based office communication system that includes e-mail, contact, and calendar functions, all wrapped up in a colorful, easy-to-use interface.

While it works through a browser -- including Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari on a Windows or Apple computer -- it uses AJAX for rich interactivity, making it easy enough for even the most technophobic person in your organization. (See screen shot below.)

The biggest improvement with this new release is the addition of Documents, which let you create shared docs directly within Zimbra, documents than can be read and even edited by others in your company. If that sounds a lot like a wiki, you're right. As with other companies we've seen, Zimbra is avoiding the word "wiki," since it tends to frighten people off and sound more complicated than it is. These documents are definitely wikis, but you don't need to tell your coworkers that if it will scare them away.

Working with Document is flexible since you can change the basic font and formatting settings, add images, and embed HTML links. You can even set the sharing level on each document so that only select team members can see it, or everyone in the organization can. You can also share with people outside the company, by providing them with a URL for that document.

There's a little room for Documents to improve, though. One thing you can't do with them is save docs to your desktop. There's no check-in, check-out system and no way to take documents with you, which is a nuisance. There's also no file manager view and no versioning system, which would let you see when changes were made and even roll back to a previous version.

A representative told us that the product was actually in beta, something not mentioned on the site or in the press release, and that there might be changes in the gold version when it's released in a couple weeks.

To get information into your Zimbra suite quickly, use the new Zimbra Assistant. Call up this pop-up helper by pressing a hot key, then begin entering the contact, appointment, or note that you want to save. Don't worry about formatting, the assistant figures it out.

The Zimbra suite includes a collection of helpful mini-apps called Zimlets, and with this release more useful Zimlets have been added. There are now ones that access Google's translation engine, check flight and travel info, send SMS messages, and subscribe to RSS feeds. Zimlets are accessible from any Zimbra page and are as easy as they are useful.

Zimbra has also announced the release of Zimbra Mobile, which lets remote workers plug into the company Zimbra system using most popular smartphones, including the Motorola Q, Nokia E series phones, those running the Symbian OS, Palm models, and Windows Mobile devices.

The BlackBerry can also connect, but only with the help of a third party add-on. By using Zimbra Mobile, workers can get access Zimbra e-mail, calendar, and contact information anywhere.

The standard Zimbra package starts at $18 per user per year, while the advanced package starts at $28 per user per year. There's an open source version, but that doesn't include technical support. The company offers a 60-day trial, so if you're looking for an instant collaboration system for your intranet, give Zimbra a try.

Zimbra Documents lets you create rich, sharable documents right in your browser.

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