Softalk takes on Microsoft on Exchange and Small Business Server

Dubbed Softalk Share Server, it’s being positioned as a simpler, lower-priced alternative for SMEs – also enabling them to share Microsoft Outlook folders so that changes made in Outlook are available immediately. Previously, this was only possible using Microsoft’s premium-priced Exchange or Small Business Server, since most competitor products don’t instantly update Outlook as changes are made. Softalk says that its Softalk Share Server enables users to share both personal and public Outlook folders, including email, calendars, contacts, notes and tasks. Users and permissions can be set-up with four clicks, without the need for the usual configuration required. Also, access to folders can be set by user groups, further simplifying administration. Indeed, the company emphasizes that it has been designed for non-IT specialists to install and use. “The two key benefits of Softalk Share Server for SMEs is that it is very easy to use and has minimal hardware requirements, both of which mean it has a much lower cost of ownership than Microsoft Exchange or Small Business Server,” says Simon Bates, joint chief executive of Softalk. The server does not need a dedicated Windows Server computer. It can be used on either existing 32-bit Windows computers or new 64-bit computers, unlike Exchange 2007, which needs a 64-bit Windows Server with an Active Directory domain. For smaller companies, it can even run on a workstation being used by an Outlook user. The new server starts at £149 for five users, and for up to 25 users is less than half the cost of Microsoft Small Business Server, according to Softalk. More users are even lower cost, it insists, with Softalk Share Server coming in at £1,495 for 100 users, compared to Microsoft Exchange Server at around £3,500.