As long as the price remains aggressive, there's little reason why an IT administrator would be reluctant to pay for the functionality and support of the commercial version. Still, companies like Critical Path Inc. in San Francisco and Rockliffe Systems Inc. in Santa Clara, Calif., offer an SMTP gateway to many e-mail systems. Sun Microsystems Inc. Each of these firms offers a scalable messaging product with an Internet gateway. Mirapoint Inc. in Cupertino, Calif., also develops a Web mail appliance with preconfigured software and hardware in a Unix-derivative environment. The turnkey approach lowers the administrative cost for corporate customers and service providers alike.
Analysts say appliances offer an attractive alternative to providers looking to streamline costs.
Olson says price and the existing penetration of the free product will better his company's competitive chances. Computerworld Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Computerworld Inc. is prohibited.