Novell begins open beta for GroupWise 7

Novell on Tuesday rolled out the open beta version of its GroupWise 7 collaboration platform, featuring support for Microsoft Outlook, usability enhancements, and new migration tools.

GroupWise 7, due for final release in August, will let users run the Outlook client with a GroupWise back end. Version 7 provides a connector between GroupWise and either Outlook 2003 or XP.

GroupWise 7 also will ship with Novell’s Suse Linux Enterprise Server. Prebundling the Linux server for use with GroupWise will give customers a great opportunity to evaluate Linux for a part of their organization, said Wendy Steinle, director of product marketing at Novell.

Unlike competing messaging offerings, GroupWise is cross-platform, running on the NetWare, Linux, and Windows platforms as well as the Linux, Mac, and Windows clients, Steinle said.

Usability enhancements in GroupWise 7 include integration between e-mail and IM so users can view online presence availability and launch IM conversations from within e-mail threads. In addition, a Home View feature lets users customize calendar, checklist, inbox, and team folders into one view. A new customizable navigation bar sits at the top of the client. The Web-access feature also has received a makeover to look and feel more like a Windows client.

Other features in GroupWise 7 include a SOAP interface designed to make it easier for developers to create and integrate applications with GroupWise, said Jon Myers, product marketing manager at Novell.

Novell also is offering the 2.0 version of its free GroupWise Migration Utility for simplifying the process of moving mail, calendar, and task items from Microsoft Exchange and Outlook into GroupWise.

Attempting to catch some Exchange 5.5 customers who are facing the end of support on Dec. 31, 2005, Novell is offering an Exchange-to-GroupWise promotion. For a limited time, customers migrating from Exchange or IBM Lotus Notes to GroupWise can purchase a single GroupWise user license for $49, including two years of upgrade protection. The promotion offers a savings of more than 70 percent, Steinle said.

“Microsoft is ending support for [Exchange 5.5] on December 31, 2005. That installed base has a choice to make: Stay on it or move to something else,” Steinle said. “We are giving those enterprise users an opportunity to experience the serious security and unbeatable reliability that GroupWise offers.”

Open beta versions of GroupWise 7 can be downloaded for free at www.novell.com/groupwise. Novell previously announced that it has committed support to GroupWise through 2015.