REDMOND, Wash., Jan. 27, 1997 — Microsoft® Exchange Server is easier and faster to manage than either Lotus Domino 4.5 or Netscape Mail Server 2.0, according to an independent, nationwide study of IT managers who said they preferred Microsoft Exchange Server by more than 2-to-1 over both of its competitors combined.
According to the study, performed by Burke Marketing Research:
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Seventy percent of IT managers preferred Microsoft Exchange Server overall, compared with 18 percent for Lotus Domino and 12 percent for Netscape Mail Server.
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Using Microsoft
Exchange Server, IT managers performed common management tasks 29 percent faster than they did using Domino and 36 percent faster than Netscape. -
In overall ease of use, IT managers rated Microsoft
Exchange Server 24 percent easier to use than Domino and 40 percent easier to use than Netscape. Microsoft Exchange Server was easier to use than Domino and Netscape in each of the tasks measured.
”
We designed Microsoft Exchange Server and all of the BackOffice
™family of products to reduce the total cost of ownership,”
said Rich Tong, vice president in the personal and business systems group at Microsoft Corp.
“This study confirms that Microsoft Exchange Server is easier and faster to use. That means it’s less expensive for IT managers to deploy and manage, it can be supported with fewer people and it requires less training. And even though IT managers say Microsoft Exchange Server is easier to administer, it provides robust Internet-based messaging and collaboration in a single integrated product – making it more powerful as well as more cost-effective.”
In the Burke research, IT managers performed five common tasks (creating a mailbox, creating a distribution list, moving a user between servers, tracking a message and setting a storage size limit for a mailbox) on all three software products. Researchers recorded the time required to complete these tasks and also asked participants to rate the three products on ease of use and overall preference.
To qualify for the study, participants had to be managers of their company’s IT network and could not be current users of any of the three products being tested. The tests were conducted in Cincinnati, Philadelphia and San Francisco in December 1996 and involved 99 subjects. According to Burke, the results are projectable to corporate IT managers throughout the United States. The study is available on the Microsoft Exchange Server Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/burke.htm.
The new results from the Burke study, which was commissioned by Microsoft, also support the findings of an October 1996 study by Zona Research Inc. which found that Microsoft Exchange Server was 47 percent less expensive than Lotus Domino to acquire, deploy and operate.
Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.0 is the newest version of the leading messaging and collaboration software. It adds unmatched support for open Internet standards as well as integration with Microsoft Internet Information Server 3.0 and the Active Platform.
With these enhancements, Microsoft Exchange Server 5.0 makes available a new generation of collaborative, Web-based applications for intranets and the Internet. Using Microsoft Exchange Server, webmasters can easily add e-mail, scheduling, discussion forums and other types of collaboration to their Web sites, giving users secure access from any browser to
e-mail messages, group calendars, discussions and more.
Microsoft Exchange Server 5.0 is currently a broadly available release candidate. General availability is expected in the first quarter of 1997. Customers can evaluate Microsoft Exchange Server 5.0 Release Candidate for 120 days at no charge by requesting it from http://www.microsoft .com/exchange/trial/ (connect-time charges may apply).
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
Microsoft and BackOffice are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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