The Zimbra Web Client is a fully integrated AJAX application with capabilities extending beyond what is possible in traditional desktop clients. Key advantages of Zimbra web email and collaboration:
As inbox quotas get bigger, you need better ways stay organized including:
Conduct fast, powerful searches across all data and files stored on the server- email, events, contacts, tasks and documents, plus:
Zimlets are a framework for adding new functionality and web services quickly to the Zimbra user experience, allowing it to be custom tailored to each deployment. Example extensions include:
Zimbra’s personal and group calendar offers advanced scheduling and free-busy times with drag and drop functionality.
Contacts can be centralized from the desktop and mobile devices all in Zimbra and easily managed within Zimbra's web address book.
Any application or file from your Briefcase can be quickly shared with peers inside or out of your organization. With a few simple clicks any file you need is always at your fingertips in the office, home or on the road.
As inbox quotas get bigger, you need better ways stay organized including:
For delegated administration to your inbox or if you simply need to have a shared sales account managed by several people, it’s simple to share an email folder. Depending on the rights granted, a peer may just view or fully manage the email in the inbox folder(s).
Conduct fast, powerful searches across all data and files stored on the server- email, events, contacts, tasks and documents, plus:
A message in the list view can easily be dragged and dropped onto several different areas of the inbox to take actions much faster than tedious menu navigation. For instance:
Zimbra features the most robust web calendar available today. It's designed with rigorous work environments in mind and allows users to easily share schedules, collaborate and create group calendars.
With Zimbra Calendar you will quickly see how well the rich AJAX experience rivals traditional calendar clients like Microsoft Outlook or PeopleCube Meeting Maker, yet it's completely web-based. Some examples of what you'll find:
Conduct fast, powerful searches across all data and files stored on the server- email, events, contacts, tasks and documents, plus:
Zimbra Calendar lets you view multiple calendars as different color "overlays”, these may be personal or shared with you buy peers. Each can be toggled on and off with one click and are a good find schedule availability amongst a small peer workgroup.
For larger organizations that leverage Global Address Lists (GAL), there are public free-busy lookups in the Schedule View. In this aggregate view many people can be invited to meetings and be set as optional or mandatory attendees. Room resources can also be added as well.
In Zimbra deployments is possible to run side-by-side with Microsoft Exchange Server. Zimbra Calendar can view free-busy times of peers on Exchange as well as schedule Exchange resources.
Conversely, users on Exchange who are using Microsoft Outlook are able to see meeting requests (and can schedule Zimbra users just as if they were Exchange users).
Zimbra Web Calendar and server supports the iCal and CalDAV standards allowing you to view external iCal feeds (eg sports schedules) side-by-side other calendar overlays. It also means other calendar clients that support CalDAV (eg Mozilla Sunbird) can be kept in sync with the Zimbra Web Calendar.
Zimlets are a framework for integrating Zimbra’s web email and collaboration experience with third party data sources to create new "mash-up" user interfaces or brand new application Tabs. They save end users time by condensing common tasks, which typically force them to open multiple applications, into simple contextual ones within Zimbra.
Zimbra ships with a default of Zimlets on the server plus new ones can be easily created and deployed by customers to integrate Zimbra with back office systems or custom workflows. More Zimlets can be found in the Zimbra Gallery.
Zimbra Social is a new application Tab that allows users to manage multiple Facebook and Twitter accounts. It is a popular Zimlet in Higher Ed for students who want a client-like experience anywhere they go in a browser.
The WebEx Zimlet integrates directly into Zimbra Calendar and allows an event to be automatically “saved as” a WebEx meeting and be managed in Zimbra. Contacts can be dragged and dropped into a meeting and be automatically invited.
Send the same emails over and over again? Save your favorite emails as templates complete with variables for personalization; they can be used in Email or Calendar invites. You can even share the template folder with your team.
Zimbra is partnering with some of the largest VoIP providers to provide a joint Unified Messaging offering for their customers. Zimbra has developed a Unified Messaging Zimlet that allows users to quickly launch calls, conference calls and to access voice mail from within the Zimbra Collaboration Suite. Zimbra's Unified Messaging Zimlet leverages the SIP protocol, an open standards based protocol, thereby providing Zimbra's customers will have the maximum choice of VoIP providers.
The initial offering of Zimbra Unified Messaging is based on a partnership with Asterisk, the leading open source VoIP provider. More information is available in the announcement.
Zimbra and Digium plan to release a Beta of Zimbra Unified Messaging as part of the 3.2 release.