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September 19, 2006
Baytech Backs Open Source Alternative To Microsoft Exchange Server
Open-Xchange, an open source messaging and collaboration server software startup based in Tarrytown, NY has raised a first round from Baytech Venture Capital in Munich. The investment in the company, which is rooted in Olper and Nurenberg, was announced last week.
The startup's software enables businesses and organizations to replace Microsoft Exchange Server for an open source alternative, as an example. It says it offers eleven different collaboration applications (calendars, document sharing, contacts etc.) and supports hot-desking and mobile access. It's targeted at the small and medium sized company.
What The User Sees On Their Open-Xchange Personal Portal Page
Baytech's Jochen Walter, told the a:c euro that the firm's product competes on scalability, greater integration features, and usability. His firm's opinion is that they are backing the market leader in the open source exchange and collaboration market.
We don't know how right he is on that because we haven't seen any trade rankings. There are certainly several competing open source packages, Zimbra, mentioned by Walter, but also OpenGroupware.org, exchange4linux and EGroupWare/PhpGroupWare, as well as commercial software from Scalix IBM/Lotus, Tobit, and Novel, according to Wikipedia (german version).
Given its competitive environment, this startup has appointed a board members that sounds like (on paper anyway) that could help it pull ahead. Take for example, Lee Dayton, a former IBM VP who particiapted in the Lotus, Tivoli, and Sequent acquisitions.
An angel investor, according to Computerwoche, and another board member is Richard Seibt, who after a stint as CEO of SUSE Linux eventually became European manager after it was acquired by Novell. He's also a former IBM man who is on the board at United Interent, a publicly traded German Internet service provider, and on the board of another venture-backed open source startup, Collax, which makes a Linux operating system that is meant to be easier to use than other Linux distribution on the market .
Another former SUSE exec, Rafael Laguna de la Vera, is chairman of the board. He was brought in as CEO of SUSE shortly before Novell acquired the company and left once the deal was done. And to help with future rounds, there is Bob Young, a former investment banker turned fund of fund manager that is in an LP in some big name US venture funds.
The startup raised a seed round when it was founded in 2005 from Laguna de la Vera, Young, and Seibt, according to Computerwoche.
The founders hail from Netline Internet Service, a German web-hosting firm. As we understand it they developed much of the software when Novell/SUSE was supporting it in open source development. After Novell acquired SUSE Linux, a German open source startup in late 2003 for $210M in cash, Novell eventually decided to use and market another software package for collaboration and email applications, and the Netline people started up Open-Xchange.
Read - Open-Xchange Closes Venture Funding(press release open-xchang)
Read- Open-Xchange hat weiteren Investor (computerwoche)
Posted on September 19, 2006 05:23 AM | Posted to Open Source Software | Venture Capital | Permalink
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