Mail server recommended for small-medium size company

Have you considered a hosted solution?

Also are you wedded to a Windows platform?  If not you might consider Zimbra.

If you think that Exchange is too complicated then Zimbra is not for you. The documentation is very poor compared to Exchange.

Have to say I disagree with the assessment of Exchange (although I would as an Exchange MVP). Most of the problems with Exchange are caused by people that do not know what they are doing setting up the product, thinking it is easy because it is a Microsoft application. If you get it setup correctly by an experienced consultant it will simply sit there and behave itself. You will also find it easy to get support on forums or from other consultants. Notes and Zimbra simply do not have the same level of support available.

However if you are adamant not to touch those two, then you need to look at either SmarterMail, Merak, Mdaemon. There was a review in NetworkWorld earlier this year which you might find useful.
http://www.networkworld.com/reviews/2009/030909-exchange-alternatives-test.html

Simon.

I know you said, not to include Exchange, but, have you considered a broader solution? I would recommend Small Business Server 2008, as it comes with Exchange, and the setup is pretty straight forward. You have one interface which will allow you to create manage users, mailboxes etcetera.

@Mestha:
> Notes and ... simply do not have the same level of support available.
Well now, really... Can you corroborate your statement?

When it comes to documentation:
http://hellomate.typepad.com/exchange/2009/06/kudos-to-the-exchange-documentation-team.html

When it comes to support, lets use this site for example:
Lotus Notes - the top expert has 521,000 points total - I have more than that in a month.
http://www.experts-exchange.com/ITPro/Networking/Email_Servers/Lotus_Domino/

Zimbra? Doesn't even have its own zone.

When it comes to getting external support, I know of very small number of Notes consultants, I expect that there are Zimbra consultants out there, but it isn't something I have looked at very closely.
Level of third party support - Notes, negligible. Most users hate it. As far as I can tell Notes only exists to keep Notes administrators in a job.

My point is - when it comes to an enterprise level solution, the solution not only has to be right for you, but also one that will work long term. I operate to worst case scenario - that is the entire IT team has been run over by a bus.
With Exchange, finding a consultant or other people with the relevant skills will be very easy.
For the other products, not so straight forward. That is a simple fact. Those that are around can command very high salaries/consultancy charges because they are in short supply.

I worked for a Notes shop before I worked with any email servers, the Notes admin could get himself a pay rise every six months simply by letting the office gossips know he was going for job interviews - because it was simply impossible to get anyone else of his calibre.

Simon.

I was only talking about Notes, I know nothing of Zimbra and therefore didn't mention it.

I think I could counter every single sentence of yours, but I'm not going to. The (only) valid point you make is that there are many more Exchange consultants than Notes consultants. I don't know the exact reason, but I think it can be explained in two ways: either there are many more Exchange sites in the world, or Domino simply doesn't need that many consultants to be kept alive. I know the first isn't really true, since surveys have been done that show that the installed base is more or less equal, maybe 45%-43% or so.

Many comparisons by Microsoft-lovers usually come down to "I hate Notes" or "Notes is ugly". But, when it comes to an enterprise level solution, who cares about ugly or other sentiments? The real question is: what quality do I get, and what is the ROI? All I can say is that Notes delivers...

"Zimbra? Doesn't even have its own zone."

Wow that's harsh!  :)


I agree that it is probably more complex to set up initially but I perform less maintenance on my Zimbra server than I do on any of the Exchange systems I manage...   That said I'd recommend Exchange over Zimbra for an enterprise environment if only because I have more experience with Exchange.  

As for a client have you tried the Zimbra Desktop?  :)

I can say the same about Exchange. If Exchange is setup correctly then it just runs. I have sites that just sit there and behave themselves. I don't have to do any kind of maintenance. I put that simply down to the quality of the build. (Blowing my own trumpet there, but no one is going to).

Part of the problem almost certainly is that Notes have completed ignored the SMB sector. They pay lip service to it, but most Notes consultancies I know of, and IBM sales droids simply aren't interested unless you have 500 seats or more. Therefore Exchange has more consultants because there are simply more sites running Exchange, meaning more people get exposure to it.
At the Notes shop I mentioned I wasn't even allowed to touch the European Notes server, despite being responsible for all IT in Europe. The highly paid Notes Admin in the USA had to do everything.

When it comes to the users, they wanted Outlook. That is what "everyone" else uses. If the learning curve is too steep then it doesn't matter if the client is the best thing going, it simply will not be used (which Microsoft know all about in Office, with their estimate that only 30% of the features are used).

However this is a hijack of another's question.

Simon.

Hi all,

Thank you very much for your replies. Some very interesting comments.

Another two reasons not to use Exchange (in our case)

- We do not use Outlook as client
- Exchange/Outlook are the main targets of hackers and similar. Of course, that is because there have the main share of the market and this is probably due to the fact that they are good products and have excellent Windows integration (of course...).
- We do not want nor need collaborative options. They generally add a lot to administrative charge. Don't mind to have them if can be unselected on setup.

Having said that, after all this positive comments about Exchange being so easy to keep after installing, I am starting to add it to my list (in spite of all the negative points I mentioned). In this regard:

Is it really so easy to maintain (meaning almost no maintenance needed)?
Does it complies with ALL my requirements specified in the original post? (leaving aside easy to setup...)
Does it integrates with Eudora? (I guess the answer is yes, but ask it just in case, you never know...)

Regards

IMHO Domino is just as easy to maintain as Exchange (sits in a corner and does what it's supposed to do).

Ah, wait, there was an interesting comparison the other day...
http://www.itcomparison.com/Mail/Exchange2k7vslotus8/Exchange2k7vslotus8.htm

I still do not have a clear alternative To Exchange and Notes that complies with my requirements. My current email server (SLMail) does, but corrupts mail with DKIM. That is the mai reason to ask for a different option.

Hm, question closed, and no points split... :-|

Anyway, I'd like an update once your new system is set up, about the price of the total and recurring software costs. Is it higher than
      ¬250 + n_users * ¬150
that you would have paid for Foundations ?