Vinod,
GroupWise has been "platform independent" since it was known as WordPerfect Office 2.x, some eight years ago. Currently, as a client/server messaging system, the Message Transfer Agent and Post Office Agent, which comprise the server portions, are available as NLM's for NetWare (3.x or 4.x), EXE's for NT or OS/2, and compiled binaries for HP-UX, AIX, Solaris, and perhaps a few other platforms. When you buy the package, you get all this software, so there is no way from sales figures to know what platforms people are running it on.
Many of the gateways are also available for multiple platforms, including DOS, OS/2, NT, NetWare, and Unix.
The Web Access component is also platform-independent. It can run on all the above OS's, and works with all the major Web servers (NetScape, Microsoft, Novell, Apache, NCSA, etc.).
It is very possible to have a GroupWise installation with thousands of users and no NetWare servers involved. It becomes easier to administer if NDS is available to manage user rights, although with LDAP support on both the servers and clients now, it might be possible to achieve similar ease of administration through LDAP. Even if NDS is required for centralized directory services, this does not limit you to NetWare, as NDS is available TODAY for many platforms (contrary to a statement you made in another post), and will be available on many more platforms by the end of the year.
If you are going to criticize a product or technology, it helps to know at least a little bit of what you are talking about.
By the way, GroupWise has four times the installed base of Microsoft Exchange, and about 80% of the installed based of Lotus Notes. Installed seats have been growing at a 40% annual rate for several years, and this rate may increase with 5.2. GroupWise has probably always been a money maker for Novell, which is why they kept it as the most valuable asset acquired out of the WordPerfect merger.
Jerry |
