“Prior to the discovery of the year 2000 “bug” and the
widespread adoption of the Internet, e-mail took a much different
form than what we take for granted today. I like to think of two
e-mail models for the enterprise consisting of a closed offline, or
legacy system, and an on-line or open model with flexibility to run
in a disconnected mode….”
“Unfortunately, behind much of the mail we think of as Internet
compliant, lies an offline, proprietary system limiting
productivity. That off-line system does not encourage
interoperability in the areas of messaging and collaboration many
hold so dear. The offline model discourages interoperability and
collaboration within organizations large and small….”
“If you want to articulate the difference between Open
Source and proprietary models of development, using the enterprise
messaging and collaboration space does wonders. You can
literally see the differences in RFC compliant systems and
proprietary ones. The perfect examples include Microsoft Exchange
and Lotus Notes.”