Open-Xchange Updates Service Provider Messaging and Groupware Platform

Open-Xchange, the open source-based competitor to Microsoft Exchange, has updated its groupware and messaging server with new features, functions, and enhanced smartphone and tablet support. And it’s adding OAuth support for LinkedIn, Twitter, and more, potentially making it easier to bring external social networks and services under the Open-Xchange interface. It’s all part of Open-Xchange’s play to sweeten the pot for their cloud service provider customers.

As far as usability tweaks, the Open-Xchange press release promotes a new ability to choose which modules display on the webmail start page, as well as setting up Google Gmail-style mail filters.

Here’s what Open-Xchange CEO Rafael Laguna had to say on the new usability features in a prepared statement:

“Our mission is to create the world‘s best webmail and groupware that is intuitive and easy-to-use, as well as accessible when mobile. We continue to make strides with these usability enhancements that let users set up their Open-Xchange the way they want, while making it a central place to aggregate other email accounts and their social network contact information.”

The other new major feature, the enhanced Open-Xchange Mobile Web Client, gives users access to all their Open-Xchange Server 6 data from their tablet or smartphone’s web browser. It’s designed to optimize access to cloud-stored data for low-bandwidth connections while also enabling offline access.

As for the OAuth integration — it’s designed to make life easier for users by only requiring them to authorize external services once and not have to login every time they want to make use of the existing Social “OX” social media integration. And Open-Xchange’s server software now supports Debian 6, CentOS 5.5, Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 6 (RHEL6).

Open-Xchange continues to garner plenty of interest for TalkinCloud, even as they generate buzz around themselves by closing big partner deals.

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