Exchange server alternatives

If the thought of installing and running a Microsoft Exchange email server brings you out in a cold sweat, then rest assured: there are lots of simpler alternatives. Moreover, most of these products now offer information sharing and collaboration features -- like global address books and shared calendars -- on top of the standard message handling facilities.

What to expect
All five of the SMTP mail servers reviewed here come with extra information sharing and collaboration features, either as standard or via optional add-ons. In most, a custom browser-based client gives access to mail and any collaboration options, doing away with the need to distribute and manage specialised client software. In four of the five, however, the collaboration features can also be accessed using Outlook -- just as you do when using Exchange as your mail server.

Other features include antivirus scanning, content filtering and anti-spam tools, plus, in three cases, support for instant messaging. All of these Exchange alternatives are relatively easy to install and manage, with remote management via a browser a common option. Most are cheaper too, although prices vary enormously.

How they measure up
We had no problems installing or using any of the products here, although we were less than impressed by Ipswitch Collaboration Suite with its four separate install routines. Similarly, all performed well as basic Internet mail servers, with good antivirus and anti-spam features more or less across the board.

It was different story when it came to collaboration, where three products really stood out. The first was Kerio’s MailServer 6, which supports collaboration using both its own (very nice) browser-based client and via an Outlook plug-in. The Kerio product can also be hosted on Linux and Apple Mac systems and is remarkably affordable, making it our Editors' Choice for small business buyers looking for an Exchange alternative.

Higher up the scale, we would recommend MDaemon Pro for use by larger companies. Already well established with good collaboration features, the product is set to get even better with a new Outlook Connector in the next release (version 8). Had that been available during our test, we might have given MDaemon an award too. However, it was only in beta, so our Editors' Choice award for an enterprise solution has to go to Gordano Messaging Suite. Although it's considerably more expensive than the others, the Gordano package is a very scalable solution that, with its full set of integrated collaboration features, is hard to beat as an Exchange alternative in the enterprise market.

Email/collaboration servers compared
	FTGate4	Gordano Messaging Suite	Ipswitch Collaboration Suite	Kerio MailServer 6	MDaemon Pro
Editors' rating	6.8	8.8	5.6	8.5	8.0
Server platforms
Windows	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Linux	no	yes	no	yes	no
Other		Unix		Apple Mac
Client support
POP3	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
IMAP4	yes	yes	no	yes	yes
MAPI	no	yes	no	yes	yes
Browser-based client	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Message Handling
Multiple domains	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Collect from POP3 servers	yes	yes	no	yes	yes
Server-side rules	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
List server	yes	option	yes	yes	yes
Security
Antivirus scanning	3rd party integration	option	yes	option + 3rd party integration	option
Spam blocking	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Collaboration features
Outlook integration	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Global address book	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Shared private address books	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Shared calendars	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Public folders	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Free/busy publishing	no	yes	no	no	no
Instant messaging	yes	option	yes	no	no
Price
Price per user for 100 users ex. VAT (base mail server + collaboration features)	£5.15	£20.08	£12.32	£5.05	£8.89