Kopano product strategy & roadmap

29 February 2016
 Kopano product strategy & roadmap

INTRODUCING DRIVERS OF KOPANO

KOPANO
For many years Zarafa has provided software solutions
for organising the lives of busy professionals. Emailing
and advanced calendaring are and remain the core
functionality for this purpose. With increased online
presence, partly due to the rise of smartphones, people
have increasingly become used to instant communica-
tion information sharing. With Kopano we introduce a
thoroughly modern communication experience with
the advanced functionality teams need to boost pro-
ductivity and enhance collaboration.
PRODUCT STRATEGY
User needs provide the main drivers for the develop-
ment of our product and the implementation of new
features. User needs typically appear withinone of the
three themes shown below. As you can see our inno-
vations contribute to these themes – and so directly
improve the user experience.

Kopano will combine Zarafa’s familiar yet advanced

groupware features with instant communication and
information sharing. The first steps towards Kopano
can already be seen in the combination of WebApp
with its add-ons today!

DRIVERS OF PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

Instant communication Manageability

Client connectivity

Mobility Open Source

Interaction with externals
Search & find
Information sharing Security & privacy

BE PRODUCTIVE WORK TOGETHER KEEP CONTROL 3

TOWARDS A NEW FOOTPRINT
With the release of Outlook 2010, Microsoft left the
path of offering a reliable interface for third party
vendors like ourselves. Our customers had to wait
for four months until we finally identified a way to
work around the newly introduced hard-coded de-
pendencies that Exchange uses for collaboration.
These types of new development at Microsoft
made us rethink our client strategy. After five years
of evaluating and developing we introduced our
first visible changes at the beginning of 2015 in
the form of Kopano. We have grasped the oppor-
KOPANO IN A NUTSHELL
Kopano is thé open source communication &
sharing solution. It includes everything you need
(and want) for your daily professional life. Its open
source nature allows you to keep complete control
of your data and your infrastructure. You can see
what is happening to your data anytime and any-
where: on-premises or in the (hybrid) cloud. Natu-
rally it also stays easy to integrate into existing en-
vironments, and its modular architecture remains
the foundation for easy scalability.
tunity to create a reliable communication stack on
our own terms, and this past year has shown what
a good decision that was.
In 2015 we published almost 30 releases and in-
troduced a lot of new products. These include the
first versions of DeskApp, S/MIME, Web Meetings,
Zarafa Files and WebApp add-ons such as Mobile
Device Management and the File Previewer. We
are excited to continue work on these products in
2016.
This will be delivered through a future proof client
family. The key player here is WebApp, which allows
you to be productive from anywhere. DeskApp is in
development to be the bridge between WebApp
and the desktop. Add-ons like Web Meetings and
Files are the first visible steps that show the ex-
tendability that Kopano provides. Outlook support,
working offline and mobility are provided via Ac-
tiveSync.
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 Kopano product strategy & roadmap

KOPANO PRODUCT OVERVIEW

The table below provides you with the complete
overview of the components in the Kopano com-
munication & sharing solution. The rest of this
document presents a detailed overview of recent
and upcoming releases in the first half of 2016. For
future releases we have identified the goals and
drivers for development which will lead to a spe-
cific feature set and other improvements during
the year.

COMPONENTS
RECENT RELEASES UPCOMING RELEASES FUTURE
OF KOPANO

Backend

Q4 / 15 Q1 / 16
Backup & simplified
GROUPWARE Search & security Performance
distribution maintenance

Management

Q4 / 15 Q2 / 16
DASHBOARD Server overview Organisation & health Recommendations
status overview

Clients

Q4 / 15 Q1 / 16
Usability Look&feel and Information
WEBAPP performance management

Q1 / 16
Ease of use
DESKAPP Desktop integration
and deployment

Q4 / 15 Q1 / 16
MOBILITY
Outlook support Scalability Sharing features
(Z-PUSH)

Add-ons

Q4 / 15 Q1 / 16
WEB MEETINGS Cross organisation Integration with other
Usability & integration
communication communication services

Q1 / 15 Q1 / 16
Integrated Sharing and
FILES Collaboration
Webbased access backend integration

Q4 / 15 Q2 / 16

S/MIME Security & privacy Certificate handling Ease of use and advanced
certification management

Q4 / 15 Q1 / 16
FEATURED Mobile Device Marketplace for
File Previewer
ADD-ONS Management future add-ons

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 Groupware
CHARACTERISTICS

• Platform for email, calendar- • Easy integration with • Share mailboxes and calen-
ing & contacts existing architecture dars between co-workers

Q4 2015 SEARCH & SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS

The latest final version of our group-
ware has received massive improve-
ments in performance and security,
with extended platform support such
as RHEL 7 and SLES 12. Search Plus is
an enterprise class search engine with
better stability, more precise search
results and enterprise search features
to be provided to clients.

The renewed SSL stack allows tailored

setups with security configurations
matching the needs of high security
environments. Presence is a new back-
end service to complement recent
and upcoming products such as Web
Groupware is at the core of communication
Meetings.

Q1 2016 ADVANCED BACKUP FEATURES

Next releases will include Backup Plus,
a rewrite of our proven Zarafa Backup.
It adds features, such as the ability to
backup WebApp settings and rules
whilst remaining easy to use. Upcoming
versions will be the first to be made
available via our new repository, which
allows customers to update and main-
tain their installations easily.

Next generation networks will be able

to connect directly to Zarafa daemons
with the implementation of native IPv6.
Additionally systemd will be fully sup-
ported, which provides simplified and
unified process handling with modern
distributions. On-premise installation keeps you in control

FUTURE PHP 7 SUPPORT AND PERFORMANCE

Our focus for later versions of our groupware is on the
optimization of satellite components. These include an
enhanced PHP MAPI interface for interoperability with
PHP 7 - essentially allowing speedups in many areas of
our web based components.
We will enhance certain performance aspects of the
Groupware Gateway (IMAP/POP), especially for very
large mailboxes. We will also aim to improve the
clustering of components to allow for a better failover
handling and scalability even in long distance environ-
ments.

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 Kopano product strategy & roadmap

Dashboard
CHARACTERISTICS

• A complete overview of cus- • Recommendations on techni- • Access to documentation,

tomers and their installations cal improvement possibilities downloads and support

Q4 2015 INSTALLATION MANAGEMENT

The Dashboard helps our partners and
customers see how their installations
are performing. The first beta version
was introduced in the fourth quarter of
2015 and it took the first steps towards
that goal.

It can provide an overview of your

installed systems. It also provides
several key metrics that indicate the
health and performance of your system.
System administrators and Zarafa part-
ners can use this information to get a
better grip on performance improve-
ment opportunities.

Dashboard provides a status overview

Q2 2016 ORGANISATION & HEALTH STATUS

The focus for the next releases will be
on management capabilities for part-
ners, giving insight into the organisa-
tions for whom they manage Kopano
installations. Examples of features to
be introduced are a system and instal-
lation health status overview, integra-
tion with support services (helping
Zarafa Support to help you more effi-
ciently) and documentation services.

Next to the technical side of the

Dashboard it will also help Zarafa’s
partners and customers to gain more
insight into their subscription status
and licensing of their products and
add-ons. Kopano Dashboard login page

FUTURE HELPING YOU HELP YOUR CUSTOMERS WITH RECOMMENDATIONS

The Kopano Dashboard helps partners help their cus-
tomers. Based on all the information it collects, the
Dashboard can recommend improvements to your
installations and prompt you about customer-specific
updates. It will be the easiest way to contact the sup-
port teams and provide a lot of information needed in
a few clicks. There will also be opportunities to extend
the products and services provided by Zarafa partners:
the Marketplace will allow the customer to select add-
ons and services they are looking for in a communica-
tion and collaboration system.

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 WebApp
CHARACTERISTICS

• Collaboration & sharing from • A full client experience in • Extendable feature set with
a single interface your own browser an add-on infrastructure

Q4 2015 USER DRIVEN FEATURE DEVELOPMENT

The latest final version of WebApp con-
tains a lot of usability related improve-
ments. A brand new search function
(leveraging Groupware Search Plus)
has been introduced, with more ways
to filter search results.

Another major usability feature is the

‘infinite inbox’ with continuous scroll-
ing. You can now also edit and re-send
previously sent emails, and use email
templates for repeating emails such
as meeting requests. The new ‘power
paste’ feature improves handling of
content from other applications.
WebApp interface

Q1 2016 A BRAND NEW LOOK & FEEL

The next version of WebApp introduces
a brand new user interface! A fresh
look and feel with a ‘flat design’ will
be implemented in WebApp, in combi-
nation with upgraded user interaction
features. This new release is a promi-
nent example of our new user driven
approach to design.

Features such as improved search fil-

ters, setting a time span for out of office
replies and advanced rule configura-
tion all stem from user feedback. The
attachment previewer will get some
major new features and improvements.
Under the hood we will continue to
New design in WebApp
improve WebApp performance.

FUTURE IMPROVED INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

The next big subject we will dive into is information
management in your inbox. Advanced tools to filter and
process incoming mail will automatically provide a great
boost to your productivity. A more extensive user inter-
face will improve the way you receive your daily digital
information and get you up to speed faster. This in turn
improves the effectivity of teams working together. User
interaction and customer feedback will continue to be
the main drivers in WebApp development.

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 Kopano product strategy & roadmap

DeskApp
CHARACTERISTICS

• A native application engine • Provides better integration • Available packages for

to run on your desktop with the desktop OS Windows, Linux and OS X

Q1 2016 THE BRIDGE BETWEEN WEBAPP AND THE DESKTOP

DeskApp is the bridge between WebApp
and the desktop. All the features from
WebApp, such as email, calendar-
ing, Web Meetings and Files, are pro-
vided just like standalone application.
Administrators do not have to worry
about different browser versions and
support for certain standards such as
WebRTC.

As a native application engine DeskApp

also integrates with the operating sys-
tem in ways that make life easier for
both users as well as administrators. In
the last quarter of 2015 we released a
first beta version.
DeskApp launcher

FUTURE INTEGRATION WITH THE DESKTOP SOFTWARE AND FILESYSTEM

The next step for DeskApp will be to
create a native client like experience
with features that benefit both the user
as well as the administrator. Examples
of this are automatic sign in and assist-
ence with configuration.

Integration with the file system and

existing applications will let users
load attachments from anywhere in
the system without having to upload
them separately. We will also introduce
advanced installation packages with
the goal to help administrators imple-
ment DeskApp in their organisation.
DeskApp configuration

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 Mobility
CHARACTERISTICS

• Compatible with Outlook • Synchronize email, calendar • Native support on all major
2013 & Outlook 2016 and contacts to smart devices mobile platforms

Q4 2015 SYNCHRONIZATION WITH SMARTPHONES AND OUTLOOK

Z-Push enables synchronization of
email, calendars and contacts to mobile
devices. Recent releases have improved
compatibility with various ActiveSync
implementations from different mobile
device vendors. Outlook 2013 and
Outlook 2016 have worked with Z-Push
since the summer of 2015.

Your information available on the go

Q1 2016 IMPROVED SCALABILITY AND ENCRYPTION WITH OUTLOOK

Next releases of Z-Push will focus on
improved scalability for large mail-
boxes and better support for Outlook
ActiveSync clients. This included the
specific way Outlook uses encryption.

Supporting a larger number of devices

in an environment that changes rapidly
can be a challenge, and the number
of ‘connected’ devices will continue to
increase as Z-Push can also be used
with Outlook.

Outlook compatibility is realised over ActiveSync

FUTURE ADDITIONAL SHARING CAPABILITIES USING AN API

Despite our success with offering Outlook support, some
challenges remain with ActiveSync, especially around
sharing. Another example of such a challenge is having
the Global Address Book available on all ActiveSync-
based devices. Future versions will focus on overcoming
these challenges.
We have started to address them already through the
design of a new API, and work on this will continue.
Together with an add-in for Outlook 2013 and 2016, we
expect to resolve some of the challenges in the first
half of 2016.

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 Kopano product strategy & roadmap

Web Meetings
CHARACTERISTICS

• Online meetings running • Share screen content, files • HD video and audio meetings
inside your browser and presentations

Q4 2015 MEET ONLINE, DIRECTLY INSIDE YOUR BROWSER

We have improved the efficiency of
working together by making it possible
to add a web meeting to an appoint-
ment in WebApp. You can also use
invitations to schedule meetings with
multiple participants.

This leverages the meeting request

feature in WebApp to pick the best
time for everyone involved. Special
Web Meetings URLs allow both local
Kopano users and external participants
to join the meeting from anywhere.

Instant communication via Web Meetings

Q1 2016 IMPROVED USABILITY IN WEB MEETINGS 2.0

The upcoming 2.0 release of Web
Meetings will use new integration
options which come with WebApp 2.2.
More configuration options regarding
sound and window handling will be
made easily accessible for the user.

Based on user feedback and our talks

with partners at the Zarafa Tour 2015,
we enhanced the framework with the
option to start Web Meetings in an
external browser window. This makes
it easier to keep working with WebApp
during a web meeting.

Work together with screen sharing

FUTURE USER FRIENDLY INTERACTION WITH EXTERNALS

In a future release of Web Meetings we will focus on
improving the experience for external attendees to a
web meeting. When you arrive in the lobby after join-
ing a web meeting, knock-knock features will allow you
to show the organizer of the meeting that you have
arrived. It will also be possible to invite externals to
join the web meeting while it’s already running.
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 Files
CHARACTERISTICS

• Acces your files straight from • Integrated with groupware • Share files in (cross-
WebApp features organisational) teams

Q4 2015 FILE ACCESS INTEGRATION WITH GROUPWARE

Increase productivity by enabling
access to your files from anywhere
using WebApp. The Files add-on works
with any system that supports WebDAV
or FTP protocols and it allows you to
store and retrieve files within WebApp.

Integration with groupware features

lets you create new emails with attach-
ments without having to download
them first and vice versa: store received
attachments easily in your storage sys-
tem.

Easy file sharing from a single interface

Q1 2016 ADVANCED SHARING FROM EXISTING STORAGE SOLUTIONS

After creating the core of the Files
add-on which ensures accessibility to
your personal files, the next version of
Files will add more collaboration fea-
tures. To reflect this new functionality
we’ll be calling it Files for Teams.

In this version, file sharing will have

a more controlled environment
using a backend like OwnCloud and
the SMB/CIFS driver to connect to your
local storage device using just WebApp.
A new module for large attachments
will also reduce the load on your mail
server – just send a link instead of the
entire file.
Boost productivity with file access

FUTURE IMPROVED COLLABORATION ON MULIPLE STORAGE SOLUTIONS

After the introduction of Files for Teams we will
continue development along the collaboration path.
The driver model allows us as well as our partners to
build additional integration options for storage solu-
tions, whether on-premises or in the cloud.
More focus will also go towards lowering the threshold
for integration with other collaboration products with
the files used in the Files for Teams storage backend.

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 Kopano product strategy & roadmap

S/MIME
CHARACTERISTICS

• Private email using S/MIME • Ensure authenticity and iden- • Easy to use: available at the
encryption tity with digital signatures click of a button

Q4 2015 AUTHENTICITY AND PRIVACY IN WEBAPP

The S/MIME plugin brings secure email
to WebApp. A S/MIME digital signa-
ture confirms the sender’s identity and
encryption provides privacy – a man
in the middle will not be able to read
any of the content while in transit or in
your mailbox.

Incoming signed and encrypted

email is automatically verified, and
decrypted after you enter the key
passphrase. The automatic import of
incoming public certificates and the
certificate manager complete the fea-
ture set you need for a secure email
environment.
Keep control with S/MIME

Q2 2016 CENTRALIZED CERTIFICATE MANAGEMENT

The next version of the S/MIME add-on
for WebApp will support the use of keys
and certificates stored in LDAP/AD,
making life easier for administrators
that set up S/MIME in their organisa-
tions.

Improvements in certificate uploading

and adding support for multiple private
keys are also on the agenda.

Sign and encrypt your email

FUTURE USABILITY FOR USERS AND ADMINISTRATORS

The WebApp S/MIME plugin will continue to improve
in future releases. The focus will be on ease of use for
both users and administrators, which leads to advanced
certificate management and easy certificate exchange.
Continuing support for newer certificate authorities
(CAs) will also be important as we develop new releases.

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 Featured WebApp add-ons
CHARACTERISTICS

• Add-ons available from the • Extend Groupware with • Develop add-ons for WebApp
Kopano Marketplace Python Zarafa

Q4 2015 FEATURED ADD-ON: FILE PREVIEWER

We have added some great improve-
ments to our File Previewer plugin,
which let’s you quickly check the
contents of files including PDFs, Open
Office documents, images, videos and
audio files.

The new File Previewer has greatly

enhanced the preview quality, supports
content selection and it will even dis-
play ‘tracked changes’ from ODF files.
Files can be downloaded or printed
directly from the preview window.
Zoom or rotate the content you are
previewing and even go straight into
presentation mode.
Kopano can be extended

Q1 2016 FEATURED ADD-ON: MOBILE DEVICE MANAGEMENT

Thanks to Z-Push, Zarafa’s custom-
ers have been able to make use of
email, calendaring and contacts on
their mobile devices for quite a while.
Administrators need to keep track of
all of these devices, while users are
demanding more insight and control of
their information and devices as well.

With Mobile Device Management

(MDM) this functionaility will become
available in WebApp. The MDM plugin
provides a list of all devices associated
with an account on a Z-Push server. You
can check the most recent connection
time, resync a device, wipe it remotely,
and remove old devices from the con- Mobile Device Management
figuration with one click.

FUTURE CREATE ADD-ONS FOR KOPANO!

Due to Kopano’s modular architecture, it can be extended
with add-ons such as the ones featured above. Not
only plugins for WebApp can be developed, but you can
also integrate with the Groupware using Python Zarafa.
Kopano and its third party add-ons will become availa-
ble in the Marketplace in the future.

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GET IN TOUCH

Visit our website:

www.zarafa.com

Email us:
info@zarafa.com

Visit us:
Dutch office: Elektronicaweg 20
2628 XG Delft
The Netherlands

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30159 Hannover
Germany

Call us:
Dutch office: +31 (0) 15 251 7715
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