We recently heard from MailSite (formerly Rockliffe), about its new MailSite Collaborator version 8.

MailSite’s claim is that the product has most of Exchange 2007’s functionality, at 20% of the license cost. In addition, it can exchange calendars with many third-party calenders — e.g., Google Calendar, Apple’s iCal, and the Windows Vista calendar. In version 9, MailSite will add improved handheld support for Windows Mobile (including Direct Push), RIM BlackBerry (including BES), and the Apple iPhone.

It’s aimed at small/medium businesses (say, 20 to 200 users) and at service providers with 50K to 500K subscribers. It’s being used by several Tier 1 carriers to provide hosted email for SMBs — e.g., Bell South, Verizon Business, and OneBox (as the basis of its unified messaging service).

Version 8 has a completely rewritten Ajax Web client, but that’s the only MailSite-specific client offered. Most customers will use Outlook as a client. Interestingly, MailSite doesn’t require an Outlook plugin or MAPI service provider — Outlook works with MailSite “out of the box.”

It also comes with bundled spam and virus control, now including greylisting (this forces untrusted senders to retry a few minutes later, which most spam sources can’t do).

Available now. Pricing examples:

• 50 employees, $495/year, no upfront subscription (Exchange is about $2,500).
• MailSite SP (for service providers), starts at $5K/year for 500 subscribers.

… Richi Jennings