14 DAY TRIAL // Apple is engaging in a new effort to directly target Microsoft Exchange Server. A new standards based, open source iCal Server, a new complete calendaring platform, will be launched this spring with Leopard Server; the source was already made available at MacOSForge.org.
The server will allow multiple users within a workgroup, small businesses or corporations to share information, calendars and schedules, coordinate events and meetings, reserve resources.
Xserve has proved to be a good workgroup server, but this year, the company will introduce an integrated email, contacts and calendar server and will offer it as open source. An article in RoughlyDrafted says this Calendar Server directly takes on Microsoft Exchange and it's a great step for Apple where servers are concerned.
The iCal Server was developed based on CalDAV (open standard for calendar information exchange) and its code is open under Apache License. With this project, Apple did not try to clone the Microsoft Exchange Server and Outlook team, but to establish a new open interoperable standard in a collaborative workgroup service.
The Calendar Server is intended for both workgroups and large businesses. It does not have a per-user license, so no extra fees while the company expands. Actually, RoughlyDrafted has calculated that the Windows Server and Exchange licensing, along with CALs for 100 users is over three times more pricey as an Apple Xserve. The server allows simple integration for both organizations who already have a directory service and for those who don't. The Leopard Server includes the pre-configured Open Directory.
The Calendar Server is filed under "another great new feature of Leopard" and it's not the only new thing in Leopard Server. For more information on the subject, visit this site.