New E-Mail Apps On Deck From Rockliffe, Ipswitch

Rockliffe Ipswitch

This week, Campbell, Calif.-based Rockliffe is slated to release MailSite SE Version 5 for Small Enterprises. The software adds Web-based calendar functions, task lists and F-Secure's antivirus application. Pricing starts at $595 for 50 mailboxes, according to the company.

And next Monday, Lexington, Mass.-based Ipswitch plans to ship IMail Server 7.1 with 128-bit SSL encryption and anti-spam capabilities. The product will give IT administrators improved control in keeping messages containing certain words or phrases from entering or leaving the server, according to John Korsak, product marketing manager at Ipswitch. "Everybody is interested in reducing spam for end users," Korsak said.

The new release will list for $995 for 250 users, $1,495 for 1,000 users and $1,995 for unlimited users, according to Ipswitch. Resellers can offer customers a subscription-based antivirus program, using Symantec's CarrierScan, for an additional $995 per year.

Rockliffe and Ipswitch both target SMB customers as well as the VARs and ISPs serving them. John Rutkowski, CEO of Bolder Designs, a Newark, Del.-based reseller, bundles Rockliffe's software with hardware for his customers. "It's rock-solid, and we use it to complement our offerings where people don't want to go to [Microsoft Exchange Server or [Novell Groupwise. They want something more compact, faster and easier to manage," he said.

Erik Tijburg, senior engineer at ISP Support Services for Redmoon Broadband, thinks upcoming changes in enterprise e-mail offerings will open the door for Ipswitch and other players. Redmoon uses Ipswitch for customers it supports worldwide.

"Small and medium-size companies are rethinking Exchange due to cost and because it's a nightmare to manage," Tijburg said. "With the new [Exchange version that will require you to run the new SQL store, you'll need an administrator who not only knows Exchange but Active Directory and SQL as well. There goes $120K a year out the window for just one body, and you'll need more than one."

Other solution providers think such e-mail offerings also could find a home in large enterprises as corporations scrutinize their e-mail costs. Ferris Networks, a San Francisco research firm, estimated that upgrading from Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 to Exchange Server 2000 can cost as much as $500 per user, including hidden costs.

Increasingly, cost-conscious corporations may determine that not all of their employees need full-fledged collaborative e-mail like Exchange and Lotus Domino, said Joyce Graff, an analyst at research firm Gartner. Enterprises will balk at paying $20 to $25 per user each month for heavy collaboration features that most users never touch, she said, adding that lighter-weight mail packages can cost a fraction of that amount.

Based on its 250-user license fee, Ipswitch mail costs $4 per seat, and corporations can reduce that cost further with the unlimited license, Korsak said. Last year, 5 percent of Ipswitch's sales were to companies with 5,000 or more employees, he added.

Rockliffe is working with Compaq Computer to put its MailSite Nonstop offering atop Compaq's Himalaya servers and is pitching the combination to customers, half of which are large enterprise accounts, Rockliffe President John Davies said.