Open-Xchange, the leading provider of business-class open source collaboration software, announced today a deal with Versatel, Germany's third-largest telecommunications provider, to bring free webmail to Versatel's customers, which include more than 1.3 million e-mail accounts. 

By offering the Open-Xchange e-mail and groupware solution as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Versatel enables its customers to work productively anywhere they have access to a browser and an Internet connection. That is because Open-Xchange users can get access to their e-mails, appointments and documents anywhere and at any time via their desktop, laptop or smartphone.

All "Versatel Mail Basic" DSL customers will receive two e-mail accounts for free -- each with one GB of storage for their e-mail communications. Versatel hosting customers get up to 500 e-mail boxes depending on the selected product. Initially, Versatel will replace its existing webmail user front-end with the powerful AJAX-based e-mail and PIM (Personal Information Management) functionality of Open-Xchange.

In the near future, Versatel customers can extend the webmail solution with additional groupware features for a small monthly fee. Open-Xchange integrates business-class e-mail, calendaring, contacts and task management with advanced groupware features, such as information management and document sharing. Appointments and team meetings can be scheduled efficiently with joined team calendars. Using shared folders, all team members get access to all important documents, tasks, appointments and contacts. Central storage of all documents prevents duplicated work and reduces the amount of e-mail traffic.

Used by more than 8 million users around the world, Open-Xchange delivers reliable and scalable e-mail and groupware for hosted implementations. "With software-as-a-service, small- and medium-sized companies in particular can realize immediate benefits," said Rafael Laguna, CEO of Open-Xchange. "They don't have to worry about installing hardware, software or backup. We provide them with complete e-mail and groupware functionality -- at surprisingly low cost."

"Through the free webmail offering, our customers can get to know the benefits of Open-Xchange without any obligation and extend to a complete groupware solution and / or mobile solution at any time," said Franz Schlickum, director Portal & Web Services at Versatel.

Open-Xchange Hosting Edition, which is used by Versatel, is the only groupware specifically designed to meet the needs of SaaS providers. The architecture of the Open-Xchange Hosting Edition enables seamless integration into existing infrastructures with existing tools for authentication, user setup, system administration, accounting and e-mail storage. Open-Xchange Hosting Edition is built on proven open source technologies like Apache and MySQL, and can scale up to a million-plus users.

About Versatel
Versatel AG is one of the premier providers of voice, Internet and data services for private and business customers in the German telecommunications market. Versatel has a strong local and regional presence in the German market, with branches in 12 of the 16 German federal states and 32 of the 50 largest German cities, which corresponds to a market coverage of roughly 25 percent. Versatel is Germany's third-largest infrastructure-based telecommunications provider in terms of revenue. Sales for 2008 exceeded €762 million ($1 billion) and at the end of 2008 the company had more than 730,000 customers under contract. Versatel employs approximately 1,300 staff at nine locations.

About Open-Xchange
Open-Xchange is the innovator of scalable and integrated open source e-mail and collaboration solutions for enterprises, academic institutions, and government authorities. The company provides on-premise versions called Open-Xchange Server Edition and Open-Xchange Appliance Edition, along with Open-Xchange Hosting Edition, which enables web hosting companies to provide an easy-to-use and feature-rich application delivered as Software as a Service (SaaS).

Open-Xchange AG is a privately-held company headquartered in Nuremberg, Germany with offices in Olpe, Germany and Tarrytown, N.Y. For more information, please visit www.open-xchange.com.