There is a not so uncommon misconception regarding open source software where people apparently are mislead by the word “open”. Open source means exactly what it sounds like – the source is open and available to you. That does not however mean that the end-product is open and “hackable” in every way.

Do you remember the old days when it cost money to setup and keep an email account? Do you still pay for the privilege of being able to send email? Now I realize that in the bigger picture neither Hotmail or Gmail are “free”, but the up-front cost is zero dollars. Sure you have email services like Exchange Online Services where you pay for your email, but if you are paying for these services just for the email part of it you probably missed out on something. You pay for services like this because they offer something more than basic email. You get contacts, calendar, etc. You get ActiveSync access. Even BlackBerry access. That’s why you are willing to pay – it offers something more than the basic free services. (Yes, I know I can do some of these things on Gmail as well without going for a full-blown hosted Exchange account.) And whereas you usually had to configure Outlook Express or some similar app, (at least outside business use), you could only connect to the SMTP of your ISP, and the mail was only accessible on that particular computer, you can now send and receive mail online regardless of which computer you are using and which ISP you’re connected through. (We are indeed moving forwards aren’t we.)
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MDM moving to the cloud