BUYER'S GUIDE

From The Cola Wars To Message Stores

Client/server messaging systems seem to have taken a lesson from the chronic cola wars. Today, many client/server messaging systems are slugging it out in the market. The sheer number of these messaging systems means that much more than the technology will influence your purchasing decision. How will you decide which system to procure? What are the significant product differentiators that will influence your decision?

The scope of electronic messaging is growing exponentially, encompassing far more than the ordinary exchange of simple mail. The product is becoming an integral part of a collaborative-computing infrastructure formed from the cohesive interaction of messaging, groupware and d atabases (see "Messaging: A New Direction," October 1, page 59). End users require products that will allow them to function in virtual environments, collaborating, communica ting and coordinating easily with one another through advanced workflow, messaging and integrated applications. You and your organization need to focus on messaging products that will move in this direction.

The Sensational Six The products included in the Buyer's Guide charts beginning on page 178 are client/server architected electronic-messaging systems capable of supporting X.400, the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) and/or Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME). Systems that exclusively use file-sharing techniques for communications were not considered.

The features and functionality included in the charts can be distilled into six key indicators: an open architecture, large heterogeneous message stores, Internet access, remote access, a universal mailbox and tight applications integration. These are the most important factors to consider when selecting a client/server messaging system that is poised for integration in the collaborative-computing infrastructure of tomorrow.

A messaging system independent from proprietary hardware, operating systems and protocols can be implemented across the heterogeneous, multivendor computing environment common in so many organizations today. Open, internationally adopted and widely supported standards and protocols make it possible for the enterprise to reach beyond its bound- aries to participate in global collaborative computing. Organizations that embrace open messaging products will be able to fully participate in the worldwide exchange of information and in electronic-commerce applications.

An open messaging product that runs on any workstation or server hardware platform and supports common operating systems--including DOS, Microsoft Windows (3.x, 95 and NT), Apple Computer MacOS, IBM OS/2 and Unix--is essential for seamless integration with the existing corporate compu ting environment. Transport protocols must include, at a minimum, X.400 and SMTP/ MIME. Support for X.500 and/ or the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) will permit users to access directories across multiple platforms from any location.

Additional boundary-extending protocols include Network News Transport Protocol (NNTP) for providing access to Internet news groups and Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP) for Web access.

Mega Message Stores Having more than 2,000 users in a single message store is beneficial for an organization because the large number of users results in increased reliability and increased response time along with a reduced network load. With that many users, managing the message superstore is of paramount concern. Products that offer compression of both attachments and message bodies require less storage space than those that offer limited, or worse yet, no compression at all.

Message compression during transmission between gateways and servers also can reduce the amount of traffic on the network. Message stores designed to hold only one copy of a message or an attachment reduce the size and the complexity of the store. The ab ility to restore a single user's mailbox without having to do a complete restoration of 2,000 users is an important requirement, especially in large messaging environments. Setting up replicated stores that keep data close to the user while providing redundancy is a good administrative solution.

Of course, a super-large client/ server message store can be a single point of failure that can take down more than 2,000 users (instead of the 200 who would be lodged in a file-sharing messaging server). Redundancy, extensive replication, fault tolerance and transparent mirroring of the server become crucial features in providing an available and reliable messaging environment. Look for products that offer enhanced and comprehensive backup and restoration tools. Complete message-store recovery, as well as user profiles, system files and associated data m ust be fast, thorough and accurate when failure would affect many users.

Access Points With Web browsers appearing on every desktop nearly overnight, access to the Internet and its storehouse of resources from the e-mail client has become a messaging imperative. Users are demanding the ability to launch a URL from within a message without having to first launch the browser. They also demand the ability to cut and paste entire home pages into a mail message, and to send that message with the embedded links still live and the images intact. Access to the messaging client from any browser lets the organization better serve remote users with an Internet connection. The client also must be able to recognize and display Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) in the viewer.