Even though there are quite a few solutions out there I have decided to take a look at NearPoint and EmailXtender but I will examine some other solutions in the future. So let me know if you are currently using a solution or are looking into buying one.

Alright Lets get started…

Mimosa Nearpoint uses a log shipping method to archive emails where as EMC EmailXtender uses a journaling technique. The advantage of the log shipping offers a minimal impact on the exchange server, EmailXtender uses a mailbox that is journaling enabled which can cause some performance impact if an Exchange server is over subscribed. I am all for reducing the amount of connectors and clients that are installed on production application servers. So in my book initially Nearpoint would get the point. However there is a con to this method as it is not fully supported by Microsoft because they cannot guarntee zero data loss. So overall I would say EmailXtender has the best approach as Microsoft supports journaling as the best archiving method.

EmailXtender has a solid light weight design which allows just one server to handle thousands of users and also perform Indexing, Journaling, Archiving, and Search functions. Nearpoint has a mutli-node grid architecture which is good for growth but requires creating another large storage space for email data. The trend these days is server consolidation and having an app that requires more servers for growth is frowned upon in my book.

Both Solutions offer support for Microsoft Exchange but EmailXtender also supports Lotus Notes. Even though I am not a fan of Lotus Notes some companies are stuck with it and I feel for them.

Alright after a couple beers I’m getting tired of typing. We will continue this in a part 2 blog entry.