Open-Xchange, the open-source messaging and collaboration solutions developer, is the latest to take on Microsoft SharePoint 2010 with the launch of their Advanced Server Edition, aimed at providing SMBs, educational institutions, and public administrations a low-cost, Linux-based alternative with the operating system integrated into the offering. Here’s the scoop.

The Germany-based Open-Xchange, which has a U.S. headquarters in New York, already provides their on-premises e-mail and groupware solutions in an appliance, as well as in the standard Server Edition, which is meant to fit right into existing IT infrastructure and allow for the continued use of existing messaging and management service on top of the new deployment.

Where the Advanced Server Edition comes in, Open-Xchange says in their press release, is with its integrated Debian-based enterprise Linux Univention Corporate Server. Deploy it on a server, and the administrator can take advantage of the integrated directory services and web-based graphical interface to manage user accounts and groups.

The idea, according to Open-Xchange, is that deploying Advanced Server Edition is more flexible than purchasing and installing an appliance, but less customizable than the garden-variety Server Edition. In exchange, Open-Xchange’s partners get centralized server management and software distribution, even across different locations.

Advanced Server Edition is aimed squarely at organizations with between 50 and 5,000 users, and in a prepared statement, Open-Xchange CEO Rafael Laguna boasted that they’re providing functionality that goes even beyond Microsoft’s offerings.

Previously, we’ve talked about Open-Xchange innovations in the SaaS channel. But on-premises messaging and collaboration isn’t going away any time soon, and if Google’s going after SharePoint in the cloud, Open-Xchange is carrying the open source alternative banner on the on-premises front.

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