Review of Zimbra - a feature-laden Web Office Suite contender

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features are out, ideas are in

Every now and then, when they make the news, I go to the Zimbra site for a short ride.
Yes, everything is there. And yes, everything works.
But huge program succeses are not about features but usability: the measure of the efficiency, eficacy and satisfaction users experiment when using them.
Zimbra is succeeding in implementing an online software that behaves exactly like the desktop counterpart. This is the problem: most desktop applications suck; yes with great respone times in some cases, but the user satisfaction is not sooo high except for a few exceptions.
Consider GMail. Yes it has response times like the desktop but what it makes it stand out is that it is oh so amenable to use.
Theh have been adding features, all the time, silently. But should we have still the original implementaqtion, we would still be adopting is en masse.
IMO Zimbra lacks that magic touch. No atter how many desktop-like applications they add.
It's a pity, because there is so much work done.

Also, the UI decoration is a bit heavy. All those bold, dark, heavy, rounded, artifacts!
It's something else it has in common with the desktop.
Compare again with GMail's spartan UI. Now things come in lighter, transparent fashion. Doesn't Zimbra UI takes you back to 1996? When 3D gizmos were in? Uh?

They need an idea more than an implementation. Having an idea is like building a better mouse trap. Google did it with the search algorithm, than with GMail, after with maps. Zimbra hasn't.

Posted by: jlanus_z   Posted on: 04/12/06 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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