The OpenGroupware.org Project has announced an initial release of open source server software and the formation of an international development community supporting open-protocol groupware server software. The goal is to create "the leading open source groupware server to integrate with the leading open source office suite products and all the leading groupware clients running across all major platforms, and to provide access to all functionality and data through open XML-based interfaces and APIs. The OpenGroupware.org source code initially includes the technology SKYRiX Software AG has been developing for future versions of the SKYRiX groupware server; the source is written in Objective-C and delivers language-neutral and scriptable functionality, including XML interfaces."

"OGo software will enable users to share calendar, address book and e-mail information; they can communicate via instant messaging, share folders, exchange documents, track changes, share a whiteboard, and browse the Web all at the same time -- all upon open Internet standards and without paying or managing cumbersome licensing fees. OGo offers users a free solution for collaboration and document management that, despite being free of charge, will far surpass the quality and level of collaboration found on Windows (through integration of MS Office, Exchange Server and SharePoint). The OGo project is a fully independent open source project, but will interoperate with the OpenOffice.org software and other similarly open clients via open standards."

From the Announcement

The software provides the server components necessary for full office collaboration with the OpenOffice.org suite and various other Linux and Windows groupware clients. OGo software runs on Linux and Solaris.

The OGo software is based initially on the contribution of the code of SKYRiX 4.1 Groupware Server, a mature product that has been in development for 7 years, and one of the earliest groupware products for the Linux operating system. The contributor, SKYRIX Software AG, is well known in Germany as a leader in Linux groupware.

The OGo software provides document sharing capabilities for OpenOffice.org documents and will enable users of MS Outlook (97/2000/XP), Ximian Evolution, Mozilla Calendar, OOo Glow (OpenOffice.org Groupware Project's client product), Apple's iCal and other standards-based groupware clients to collaborate.

OGo software will enable users to share calendar, address book and e-mail information; they can communicate via instant messaging, share folders, exchange documents, track changes, share a whiteboard, and browse the Web all at the same time -- all upon open Internet standards and without paying or managing cumbersome licensing fees.

Says Gary Frederick, Leader of the OpenOffice.org Groupware Project: "Just to be perfectly clear, this is an MS Exchange replacement. OGo is important because it's the missing link in the open source software stack. It's the end of a decade-long effort to 'map' all the key infrastructure and standard desktop applications to free software. OGo offers users a free solution for collaboration and document management that, despite being free of charge, will far surpass the quality and level of collaboration found on Windows (through integration of MS Office, Exchange Server and SharePoint). Today marks the completion of 'OpenStack'."

Stu Green, Managing Director of Open Source Professional Services: "The release of OGo means the OpenOffice.org suite is ready for the enterprise complete with full-featured and mature groupware solutions. These capabilities once and for all show how free software betters proprietary solutions that require licensing payments on both the client and server sides. Also, OGo provides multiple file format filters for creating, storing and sharing data in an open and flexible fashion. It's possible now to completely avoid proprietary file formats and non-standard XML throughout the desktop stack and infrastructure. Licensing fees and license management are gone. And with OOo + OGo, no remote activation is required."

OGo has extensive and broad support for XML based APIs:an XML-RPC 'Webservice' API, support for SunONE XML based WCAP, support for HTTPMail/MS Exchange-based WebDAV, and finally for iCalendar files in XML notation (according to the xCal drafts). Given the XML based storage format of OpenOffice.org the OGo document storage will be able to perform feature rich team based collaboration and content management. OGo uses a WebDAV-accessible relational database management system to make document storage accessible from the OpenOffice.org office suite.

OGo is licensed under the open source dual licenses, Lesser General Public License (LGPL) and the General Public License (GPL). Libraries and components are licensed under the terms of the LGPL and applications are licensed under the GPL. For users, this means in part that the OGo software can be used, improved and redistributed at no cost. For developers, the licensing implications vary depending on the type of code contribution that is contemplated.