Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Business model of a Zimbra Wrapper




I was initially amused with what MeritMail is offering. It is nothing interesting - just a Zimbra wrap. That was my conclusion if I see it from a standalone product viewpoint.

However, if you position it as a Total Solution or One-Stop Solution, then it starts to make sense. Take a look at MeritMail's feature list.

What interests me is:
MeritMail Leverages your existing Merit network connection

I think it's much easier to push a new solution onto an existing solid infrastructure. In this example, customers (mostly universities, I think)  who are already on Merit network will naturally incline to subscribe to MeritMail service. 

Easier to maintain the vendor relationship. Easier to raise a support case, if any. 

I would think it's easier to bargain for a cheaper price since there is definitely economy of scale managing data center/network/mail servers. 



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