Open-Xchange Offers Free 'Live-CD' for Open-Xchange Server

TARRYTOWN, N.Y., Jan. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Open-Xchange, Inc. today announced the availability of a free, fully functional "Live-CD" of Open-Xchange Server 5 that gives users a cost-free, risk-free way to test all the attributes of the world's leading open source alternative to Microsoft Exchange.

Open-Xchange Server 5 is the leading messaging and collaborative solution based on open source technology. It provides key messaging functions like email, calendaring, contacts and task management, fully integrated with advanced groupware features such as project tracking, document sharing, user forums, and a knowledge base. Open-Xchange Server 5 works with a wide variety of email clients and mobile devices. Because it is built on open platforms and open standards, it is easy to integrate with current IT environments and future technologies.

"With so much hype and confusion in the collaboration market these days, we want to give customers and partners a way to see the experience how straightforward, easy-to-use yet robust Open-Xchange is," said Frank Hoberg, CEO, Open-Xchange Inc. "This is not a polished, pre-run demo, but the real live product that will give everyone who uses it a good idea of what we offer."

Built on KNOPPIX Linux, the Live-CD contains a complete edition of Open- Xchange Server 5 that boots directly from the CD-ROM, ensuring that the host computer is not modified in any way. Any data that is added during use of the CD is not saved and is deleted when the CD is removed. The Live-CD offers:

* Testing of almost all user and administrative features

* Easy start-up with no prior special technical knowledge

* Outlook OXtender testing The Live-CD can be downloaded from http://www.open-xchange.com/live. Also available is a first look online demo at http://www.open-xchange.com/tryfirst/. About Open-Xchange Server

Open-Xchange Server is one of the most active and fastest growing open source projects to date. Launched in August 2004, Open-Xchange Server now ranks #8 out of 303 groupware projects on freshmeat.net website, #4 in handhelds, and overall #245 out of 39,371 listed projects. The Open-Xchange community website, http://www.open-xchange.org, is visited by 130,000 unique visitors each month, the GPL version of Open-Xchange Server is downloaded more than 9,000 times each month.

Open-Xchange Server 5, the commercial product launched in April 2005, is engineered for ease of installation, migration, administration, integration and use. It interoperates with virtually all web browsers and important proprietary and open source rich clients. Open-Xchange Server supports the two leading Enterprise Linux distributions, Red Hat and SUSE. Innovative connectors, OXtenders, enhance customer flexibility by using open standard APIs to integrate existing IT infrastructures, or even extend capabilities to such as fax, VoIP, or CRM solutions. About Open-Xchange Inc.

Open-Xchange Inc. delivers reliable and scalable groupware, collaboration, and messaging solutions. Its flagship product, Open-Xchange Server, is the market-leading collaboration server that combines best-of-breed open source software with commercial software add-ons and connectors. Open-Xchange Server is among the Top 300 most popular and most active open source projects in the world today. Open-Xchange Inc. is based in Tarrytown, NY, with offices in Olpe and Nuremberg, Germany. For more information, please visit http://www.open-xchange.com