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Symantec Enterprise Vault vs. Microsoft Exchange Server Archiving

2010/06/03 Koen Vermoesen 5 comments

Earlier on today Symantec tweeted an article comparing archiving features offered by both Symantec Enterprise Vault and Microsoft Exchange Server. They might call it a

Great article

but I’m not sure I agree. From my point of view the article reveals nothing that isn’t known for months. Exchange 2010 is RTM for half a year already. What I really would like to see (and so are others) is a detailed comparison between both Enterprise Vault and Exchange Server. So far I’ve not been able to find such a comparison anywhere on the public internet, so let me have a shot at it myself:

Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Symantec Enterprise Vault 9
Archiving Targets
  • Exchange Server
  • Exchange Server
  • Lotus Domino
  • Sharepoint Server
  • File Servers
Prerequisites
  • SP1 to store primary and secondary mailboxes in separate databases
  • OWA or Outlook 2010 to access the archives
Integration
  • Seamless integration, both client and server side; pst-like
  • Mailbox search and conversation view work across both mailboxes
  • Training required for both the Administrator and the end user
  • Additional technology
  • “Stubs”, Archive Explorer look “different” to the end user. Virual Vault looks just like a pst
Offline Archive Support None Offline Vault
Storage
  • Exchange databases
  • No SIS
  • SIS
  • Special options like WORM, lots of choice
Legal Position
  • Weak
  • Strong
Migration Easy (?)

  • In place upgrades not supported, need to do swing migrations
 Hard (?)

  • Cannot skip major versions.
  • Need to pay attention to compatibility both for client and server side software
Cost
  • Enterprise CAL’s (Client Access Licenses) required
  • Possibly additional server licenses
  • Additional software to license
  • Additional hardware
  • Training
Conclusion Low end alternative for pst-files for the first time ever If you want to archive…

  • … for legal reasons
  • … multiple targets
  • … to specific storage solutions

Note: This info is preliminary. Both products are in need for E2K10 SP1 before they can be taken seriously. Enterprise Vault 9 is still in beta at the moment and will only support E2010 from SP1 onwards. Exchange Server 2010 will allow separating primary and secondary mailboxes starting with SP1. This highly anticipated Service Pack will probably be released somewhere around Q3 of this year.

Apart from that I’m convinced we’re actually seeing the trusted Microsoft strategy of entering the market with a basic feature set. They feel the temperature and then gain market share gradually. Release after release.

Whether you agree or not, or just want to contribute to the discussion; feel free to comment.

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