Softalk challenges Microsoft Exchange

David is going up against Goliath this week as communications software company Softalk releases a cut-price alternative to Microsoft's Exchange.

Softalk Share Server, which is being pitched at small and medium businesses (SMBs), is a collaboration server that allows users to share Microsoft Outlook folders so that changes made to documents are available immediately. Softalk claimed that this has only been possible with Microsoft's pricey Exchange and Small Business Server.

Softalk Share Server lets users share personal and public Outlook folders, including email, calendars, contacts, notes and tasks.

The company claims that new users and permissions can be set up quickly with just four mouse clicks, avoiding the "complex configuration required to use Microsoft Exchange". It also does not need a dedicated Windows-based server to run and can be loaded on machines, including a user's workstation, running either 32-bit or 64-bit versions of Windows.

"The two key benefits of Softalk Share Server for small and medium businesses is that it is very easy to use and has minimal hardware requirements, both of which mean it has a much lower cost of ownership than Microsoft Exchange or Small Business Server," said Simon Bates, joint chief executive of Softalk.

Softalk Share Server starts at £149 for five users and for up to 25 users is less than half the cost of Microsoft Small Business Server, Softalk said. According to the company, a 100-user licence costs £1,495, compared to around £3,500 for Microsoft Exchange.

Like this story? Spread the news by clicking below:

 del.icio.us     Digg this     reddit!