Messaging vendor MailSite has answered the demand for mobile collaboration with MailSite Fusion 9, a platform that lets enterprises provide mobile communications features to users no matter what smartphone is tied to the network.
A low-cost alternative to Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Exchange Server and RIM’s BlackBerry server, Fusion 9 is aimed at the e-mail hosting industry.
Mobile collaboration is gaining ground thanks to inherent productivity and efficiency.
According to a 2007 Yankee Group survey, mobile workers comprise about 40 percent of today’s workforce. As dependence on mobile devices increases, more mobile workers hit the road with their devices.
“There is a huge demand for this kind of capability, and users want e-mail collaboration,” John Davies, MailSite CEO, told InternetNews.com.
MailSite Fusion 9 features an ActiveSync server with DirectPush that gives users e-mail and collaboration capabilities, such as calendaring, via a single-server platform.
It’s compatible with the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone 2.0, Windows Mobile devices, smartphones connected to Microsoft Exchange 2007 ActiveSync and even Research In Motion’s (NASDAQ: RIMM) BlackBerry devices.
MailSite currently has 2,000 customers hosting more than 15 million mailboxes worldwide, including service providers such as AT&T (NYSE: T), Verizon Wireless and NetOne.
The product’s open source infrastructure allows integration with any browser, and popular e-mail and calendaring clients.
Using Microsoft’s DirectPush technology, users can receive e-mail in real-time on Windows Mobile 5.0 and 6.0-enabled devices through Exchange servers.
In addition, Microsoft’s ActiveSync is a Microsoft program that lets mobile devices be synchronized with desktops or a server running Exchange, and several other platforms including Zimbra.
“We’ve designed it to be simpler and more lightweight in terms of administration and installation as opposed to an Exchange server that can be bloated and too big for many enterprises to deal with,” Davies said.
He added that the platform is a lower-cost alternative as it runs on 32-bit servers and can be administered by a Windows administrator. Exchange, for example, requires 64-bit servers.
Fusion 9 integrates with Microsoft Outlook 2007 without plug-ins, and it supports Mozilla Thunderbird and Lightning and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) Calendar. On the security end the system features a Kaspersky antivirus engine and the Mailshell antispam engine.
The enterprise version is free for 20 users and starts at $495 a year for 50 users.
