VARs: Leopard Server A Viable Alternative To Microsoft

Solution providers say iCal Server's open calendaring protocols, which allow for easy integration with other calendaring programs, is also one of the key selling points. For many Mac-centric VARs, though, the mere availability of a full-solution calendaring program from Apple comes as a relief.

"Hallelujah! It's about time," says Michael Volchok, president of Volchok Consulting, a solution provider based in New York City. Volchok says he thinks Apple's decision to use an open source standard will have a "huge impact" on the cross-platform installed base at the enterprise level. "Combined calendar, email, and general messaging software -- we've been waiting for that forever," he says. "And it comes none too soon if you look at what Microsoft's offerings, which just haven't improved much over the last three versions."

What's important about Leopard Server, Volchok says, is the arrival of choice. "Is this going to create a tsunami of destruction for Microsoft?" he asks. "No. But it does offer people an alternative, and that's the point." The iCal Server does not threaten Microsoft's Office suite, which Volchok calls "fundamental" to Microsoft's bottom line. "It is just a drop in the bucket compared to that," he says. Nor does he expect many clients to abandon the Exchange program. "It's going to be about new set-ups or people whose circumstances have changed," he says.

Apple's option for unlimited licensing also makes iCal Server appealing, especially for small businesses, says Joe Schram, creative services engineer for TenPlus Systems, a Mac-centric solution provider based in Raleigh. "On the Microsoft side, you have to pay per machine. With Apple, you can have as many people connected to the server as possible," he says. "If you go unlimited, it's pretty much a direct challenge to that licensing model."

Schram points out Apple is a part of the CalConnect Consortium, which focuses on improving interoperability of different calendaring and scheduling applications. IBM, Google, and Apple, among others, are members of the consortium. On August 15, it added another large company to its roster -- Microsoft. "Everyone except Microsoft got together to come up with an open calendaring platform," Schram. "Now what's happening is Microsoft is seeing enough momentum behind open calendaring to keep tabs on it."

As with many of his colleagues, Schram is just happy there is finally an alternative to Microsoft's offering. "Microsoft has been coasting, frankly, on Exchange. I think Apple is definitely taking advantage that Microsoft is having some struggles right now," he says. "And Apple is bringing its A-game."

Apple, however, is still dependent on Microsoft. Paul Roth, COO of Baltimore-based solution provider Chesapeake Systems, says that is a reality Apple is aware of. "What Apple does is spur competition to step up and compete with them," he says. "When the Mac side does something impressive, the Windows version has to do something equally or more impressive."

Roth says he believes if Microsoft were to go after anyone, it would likely be an open-source competitor rather than Apple. Nor is it in Apple's interest to ruffle Microsoft's feathers, he points out. "Apple is just giving them an environment to function better in," he says. "If anything, Apple is looking to see what Microsoft can bring to the table to see what they can compete with."

Dustin Templeton, director of sales and marketing for Chicago-based MacSpecialist, says while quite a few of his clients have asked about iCal Server, he says he'll have to wait to put it into production before he knows whether or not it can mount a serious challenge to Exchange. "It will help us tremendously with our Mac-based clients," he says. "It will help us internally, too. We have a large service department and it's been just short of a nightmare to coordinate calendaring."

Roth admits companies used to dealing with Exchange or a compendium of solutions will require convincing. "Most of our clients aren't actively pursuing a change," he says. "A lot of our clientle wants a solution to work and not really think about." So while the old "if it ain't (too) broke, don't fix it" ideology exists, Roth says it is the solution provider's responsibility to be pro-active and inform their clients how iCal Server deployment can increase business efficiency.

"We're hunting down our clients and saying, 'you're spending too much time with a work-around solution, and we want to provide you with one that really works,'" Roth says. "That's how we're going to position this to our clients." Roth, like many of his colleagues, says he wants to experience the sense of improvement before taking it to his clients, but says he is very optimistic. "We're going to show them all the stuff they can take out of their workday lives," he says. "I'm envisioning next month I could be saying that all the time."