[TLBAT] Messaging, collaboration, IM …. an opensource alternative to Microsoft Exchange

Another post to present a free tool, another post to save your low budget!

When building an IT infrastructure, one of the features you HAVE to consider is to provide messaging and collaboration tools to your customers (normally your employer…alsways remeber: the users are your customers!); considering to buy Microsoft Exchange is always the first choice but as you know this will cost you money that, with some little sacrifices, can be saved.

Once again I’ll focus on a VMWare appliance (ok, it’s clear that I do love VMWare appliances!) that you can download, burn or mount as an ISO image and then start the VMWare machine and have an almost ready tool for the production evironment.

This time the VMWare appliance consists of a Linux based machine (rPath linux) and the preinstalled Zimbra Collaboration Suite 4.5. On this link you can download the ISO image that you can mount on your VMWare Server/Player (more instruction in this previous post) and once you have powered on your VMachine you can have a free, opensource, reliable messaging and collaboration server.

Hereafter some screenshots: