Novell this week announced support for Microsoft Exchange 2003 via its Ximian Connector for Microsoft Exchange. This will allow Linux and Sun Solaris clients the same rights, privileges and controls when attached to Exchange as a Windows email client.

This means that Linux desktop users can manage their e-mail, calendars, group schedules, address books, public folders and tasks in Exchange. Ximian is the company that Novell bought in August which has worked on the Gnome desktop GUI for Linux and this underlined a strategic switch to Linux for Novell.

At the time Novell made a huge commitment to Linux, shifting all of its leading revenue earners such as Groupwise and eDirectory onto Linux and it is making a strategy of surrounding Windows environments with Linux based options.

In September Ximian promised the commercial release of its Mono technology, which will run Microsoft .Net applications on Linux, by the end of the year.

Ximian Connector for Microsoft Exchange works in conjunction with Ximian Evolution, a personal and workgroup information management product including an email client, for Linux and Unix systems.

Ximian Connector for Microsoft Exchange is now available for $69 per user from Novell Authorized Resellers and from the Ximian Web store.

© Copyright Rethink Research Associates 2003

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