On the Mark: E-mail Shifts to the Web

Computerworld - E-mail is a horizontal application that has become critical to everyones business. Thats why your data center is littered with Exchange or Domino servers hosting scads of mail accounts. Satish Dharmaraj, CEO of Zimbra Inc. in San Mateo, Calif., thinks its time to consider tidying up your mail server sprawl by offloading e-mail services to his company. Now, you may think a browser-based Web mail service would meet resistance from users put off by an unfamiliar user interface and by administrators who demand the policy-based management and compliance-capable tools of client/ server e-mail systems. Well, think again. Running inside Internet Explorer or Firefox, Zimbra has an interface thats a dead ringer for Outlook. Dharmaraj says AJAX technology even lets users read and write missives while untethered from the Internet and synchronize once they reconnect, just as with corporate mail systems. Policy-based archiving services will be available with the Zimbra 5.0 release coming next month, he says. And you can store messages for compliance purposes on your own site or at Zimbras data center. Zimbra already has more than 9 million commercial users. Pricing varies for business, education and Internet service provider customers.

Utilities Smarten Up
With the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, electric, gas and water utilities throughout the U.S. were compelled to review the possibilities of deploying so-called advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) equipment, including smart meters, in hopes of reducing power consumption. Although AMIs arent required, most utilities are enthusiastic about the potential two-way communication capabilities of smart meters, claims Chris Camino, senior vice president and general manager of SAP America Inc.s utility practice in Newtown Square, Pa. The reason, he says, is that AMI equipment gives utilities the data they need for demand planning, more precise billing and targeted services for customers. All of that, Camino argues, requires back-office operations that can crunch the data. For example, billing systems need to know how much energy a customer is using and whether the utility has an off-peak rate structure. Billing software must also be able to give credits to customers who have solar panels that produce extra power for the grid. So, the next time you get your power companys invoice, dont think of it as a bill; consider it a potential green initiative.
Get Control Over PCs
By mid-2008, PC makers should be offering IT shops extra security for their laptops with FailSafe, BIOS- level software from Phoenix Technologies Ltd. in Milpitas, Calif. According to Gaurav Banga, Phoenixs chief technology officer, IT shops with PCs from resellers that use Phoenixs service will be able to remotely control the content and functions of their mobile devices from a Web console. Anytime one of their PCs is connected to the Internet, they will be able to retrieve, encrypt and erase files, or even disable the device. They could also use IP tracing, Wi-Fi location data and other forensic techniques to zero in on a missing laptops location  or, if its equipped with a GPS chip, pinpoint it precisely. If the PC has a webcam, they could even take a photo of the user to see whos running it. Add-on security tools offer similar features, but Banga contends that FailSafe earns its name because it can be loaded in firmware with the BIOS. That means it cant be bypassed by booting the PC from a different operating system on a CD. Pricing will be determined by the resellers.

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