Overview
The Messaging System delivers a complete e-mail, calendaring and collaboration solution to your organisation.
The system is available either as a hosted service or stand-alone server.
Here are just a few examples of the functionality that you may expect;
Message fragments
In all views, you can see a fragment of each message alongside the subject so you don't even need to open the message.
Contact pop-ups
Rolling the mouse over the senders name will pop-up a window displaying their contact details.
Self-organising inbox
The inbox is self-organising. As a new message arrives, it is immediately indexed so that it may be easily retrieved at a later date using the search bar. Messages belonging to the same conversation thread (e.g. replies and responses from one or more people) are intelligently grouped into 'conversations' and will be automatically moved to the top of your inbox as a new message arrives.
Tags and Dynamic Views
Messages may be easily categorised or grouped together using one or more colour-coded 'tags'. Dynamic tag views allow you to view all messages with a particular tag.
Conversations
When you open a new message, a list of related conversation threads are displayed at the top of the page allowing you to easily navigate between threads.
Drag & Drop
Conversations or individual message threads may be easily dragged and dropped into folders or trash allowing you to quickly manage your messages.
Intelligent pop-ups
The Web Client may be integrated with just about any other information system you could think of.
For example, roll your mouse over a postal code to get a map of the locality from a web service (e.g. Yahoo Maps). Click on a telephone number to launch a dialler application (e.g. VoIP phone, Skype etc).
Also, if a message contains some other recognised keyword such as a Parcel Tracking Number (e.g. Fedex), it is highlighted. By rolling the mouse over the link you can instantly see further information about the item. In this case, clicking on the link will take you straight to the Fedex tracking service log for this shipment.
The system may be easily extended to interact with other information systems such as a database, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) application or any other external web service.
Contacts
Contact records may be added automatically when you send or receive an e-mail to or from a new person. You may also add or edit a contact record at any time by right-clicking on the name, e-mail address or phone number of a person when it appears in a message or diary.
Shared Contacts
The system allows users to create personal contact records and also to share common contacts with other users. As with messages, contact records may be categorised with tags.
Calendaring
The web client includes a powerful calendar application. An intuitive display of the current month is always visible in the bottom left hand corner of the screen allowing you to easily check what's on in your personal or shared company diaries.
Fast context switching
The system allows for fast context switching between your e-mail, contacts and calendar applications which saves you valuable time.
For example, by rolling your mouse over a date in the calendar display or contained in an e-mail message, you will get an instant overview of what meetings you or the rest of your team have got on that day.
Right-clicking your mouse on a date will display a menu allowing you to jump to the day in your calendar, create a new appointment entry or even view e-mail messages sent or received on that day.
Check colleagues' schedules
When arranging a meeting, you may invite contacts by e-mail and even check the individual schedules of your colleagues to help you to determine a suitable date and time when everybody is free.
Allocate shared resources
You may even book locations such as meeting rooms and shared resources like an overhead projector or company car at the click of a mouse.
Intuitive Design
Calendars can be easily toggled on or off using the calendar list in the top left hand corner of the screen.
As you select a calendar, busy dates in the calendar display or schedule viewer are highlighted accordingly.
In the schedule view, you can see a list of meetings or events across all of your calendars. Calendars are colour coded and a handy "thermometer" display instantly highlights busy times and clashes between appointments.
Changing plans
Re-arranging a meeting time couldn't be easier. Simply drag the entry to a new time slot and attendees will be automatically notified by e-mail and re-invited to the meeting.
Syncronisation
The system also supports the iCal open standard which allows you to synchronise your calendar with another software application or device.
You may also link your calendar to an external calendar published on the Internet such as the fixture list of your favourite football team.
Web 2.0
The system includes support for many so-called Web 2.0 technologies. We've already seen how web services may be used to pull data from third party systems.
RSS Feeds
Folders may be created to read and manage RSS feeds and blogs from external websites.
Once configured, news is downloaded to the folder in the format of an e-mail message allowing you to process feeds and blogs like mail messages.
Wiki
Users may also collaborate on documents and spreadsheets and publish on-line content for other people with a powerful wiki book.
Access Anywhere
Users may connect to the system from their web browser or favourite e-mail program from work or from across the Internet using their home computer, PDA or other device (e.g. BlackBerry).
Security Features
The Messaging System is firewalled and includes built-in anti-SPAM and anti-virus software.