Microsoft Makes Its Move On CC:Mail Shops

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April 15, 1998 (9:37 AM EDT)

By John Fontana,

Armed with several dozen third-party vendors and integrators, Microsoft made its move Tuesday to lure cc:Mail customers into switching to the Exchange messaging platform.

In a plan aimed at convincing cc:Mail customers that Exchange is a better option than migrating their aging systems to the Lotus Domino/Notes platform, Microsoft (company profile) offered no additional discounts for its own software. Instead, the Redmond, Wash., software developer turned to a slew of hardware and software vendors, as well as integrators, to offer various incentives.

The plan counters a similar program Lotus (company profile) put forth last month to lure cc:Mail customers to Notes/Domino, the latter of which accounts for more than 20 million installed end users. Exchange has more than 10 million. Lotus' plan is focused primarily on new migration software and discounts for Domino and Notes.

Both Eye CC:Mail As Main Target
The installed base of 14 million cc:Mail users has become a prime target for both Microsoft and Lotus since the IBM division said it would no longer offer major upgrades to the file sharing system. Microsoft stopped upgrading its Microsoft Mail product years ago, though it is still used by 10 million individuals.

In March, Lotus unveiled its cc:Mail Upgrade Program, which featured a free 16-bit client, Lotus cc:Mail Desktop for Windows 6.3, with a free client access license and pricing options for upgrades, including the Domino server for $795. A second option involves a wholesale move to Notes/Domino, including Notes client upgrades for $25 for maintenance customers. It also includes two new tools, the cc:MTA 2.0, and cc:Mail to Notes Upgrade Tools for DB6 and DB8.

By contrast, the most substantial discounts in the Microsoft plan will be offered to cc:Mail and Microsoft Mail users, indeed the largest universe of candidates for Exchange.

The price to upgrade cc:Mail and Microsoft Mail customers to Exchange Server, which includes client access licenses, is $33; the Exchange Server Standard Edition is $407, with the Enterprise Edition priced at $801. Microsoft said that pricing, which has been available to cc:Mail and Microsoft Mail customers since the release of 5.0 a year ago, is 50 percent below prices offered to other customers.

"We're trying to get users to move from cc:Mail and other file-sharing products to a system that will take them into the next millennium," said Dave Malcolm, group product manager for Exchange. "To do that, we have partnered with industry leaders to provide products, tools, and services to make migration to Exchange easier and more cost-effective."

But neither the Lotus nor Microsoft plans solves the biggest migration issues of all -- updating infrastructure. IT managers will have to significantly alter their network topology to run client/server systems as opposed to file-sharing systems because they need to be more centralized.

"We're trying to get users to move from cc:Mail and other file-sharing products to a system that will take them into the next millennium." -- Dave Malcolm
Microsoft

"What these guys fail to address is that you can't lower the price of redesigning your network and implementing the new design," said Tim Sloane, director of research for Internet infrastructure at Aberdeen Group, in Boston. "The cost is in the people needed to make it happen." Sloane said. Companies that have internal networking groups will not necessarily be looking for outside help to deploy any client/server messaging system.

Nevertheless, Microsoft is offering deals on consulting services for those that want them.

Digital Equipment, in Maynard, Mass., will offer free "teleseminars" and planning guidelines to cc:Mail and Microsoft Mail customers. Digital said the service is valued at $7,000. In addition, Data General will offer a 30 percent discount on its consulting services, Corporate Software & Technology is offering 30 percent off its five-day Exchange Migration Planning Session and a full refund of the costs if the customer decides to hire CS&T to manage the Exchange deployment.

On the hardware side, both Compaq and Dell said they will offer discounts on servers. Existing cc:Mail and Microsoft Mail users can trade in their e-mail servers for new Compaq ProLiant servers that can run Exchange. Houston-based Compaq said the discounts will be based on the configuration of the servers being traded in. Round Rock, Texas-based Dell will immediately begin bundling Exchange 5.5 and five client access licenses free for customers who purchase Dell PowerEdge 4200 or PowerEdge 6100 servers configured by Dell to run the Exchange, saving customers upward of $407 or $801.

Microsoft already offers a set of tools, which ship free with the Exchange 5.5 server, for aiding migrations from a number of platforms. The Microsoft migration tools cover cc:Mail, Microsoft Mail, Novell GroupWise, IBM OfficeVision/VM, SNADS, Verimation Memo, Digital All-in-One and connectors (gateways) for cc:Mail, Microsoft Mail, Notes, OfficeVision/VM, and SNADS.

Also, 22 third-party provides are offering discounts or trial offers on their products, including Dr Solomon's Software (virus protection), FrontOffice Technologies (workflow), Omtool (fax service), and Cashal Technology (replication).

Microsoft launched Tuesday a website focused on e-mail migration (www.microsoft.com/exchange/migrate).