GroupWise includes a Web-based mail client, called WebAccess, for mobile users. WebAccess requires several additional components, however. Two applications, WebPublisher and WebAccess, must be installed on any Web server that will handle client requests. A third component, the WebAccess Agent, handles the distribution of requests into mailboxes. All three can be installed on the same server or spread over multiple servers to increase scalability. One interesting foible: The WebAccess Agent runs only on a NetWare or Windows server, but the other two applications can be installed on a Sun Solaris server.
We were not impressed with the native GroupWise client. It does what it is meant to do, but you must go through a lot of steps to get even simple tasks completed. GroupWise 6.5 also supports the Outlook client, but this could cause glitches if the software isn't kept up to date. The client installation, for instance, can cause strange system integration problems. We couldn't exit Excel after GroupWise was installed--the "X" button to close out of the program was gray and not functional.
One of the knocks on GroupWise has been its lack of application-development capabilities. Both Domino and Exchange let developers build custom applications, while Novell has chosen to leave application development to third parties. In the wake of Novell's recent acquisition of SuSE Linux, it will be interesting to see if the company's attention turns away from GroupWise to focus on Ximian Evolution, perhaps for good.
Novell GroupWise 6.5; Novell NetMail 3.1. Novell, (800) 453-1267, (801) 861-7000. www.novell.com
ERIC FLEMING is a network administrator for KI, a furniture manufacturer based in Green Bay, Wis. Write to him at [email protected].Today's groupware products handle more than collaborative workspaces, group calendars and instant messaging: They also are important tools for application developement. We reviewed the latest versions of enterprise groupware from IBM, Microsoft and Novell. IBM's Lotus Domino Server 6.5 came out on top. It provides a panoply of groupware and application-development features across a broad range of OSs. Microsoft's Exchange Server 2003, a good fit for Microsoft shops, boasts a slick new Web client interface that Windows loyalists will embrace. Novell's GroupWise 6.5 offers broad platform support, but it lags behind in application development.
