Quest Releases Tool for SharePoint Migration

Quest Software has released a new tool to move public folders from Microsoft’s Exchange e-mail server software to SharePoint Server 2007.

Public folders are used to make documents, e-mail or a booking calendar accessible throughout an organization to people using the Outlook e-mail program.

The feature became very popular in Exchange, said Joe Baguley, global product director for Quest, which offers a variety of migration tools for software from Microsoft, Oracle and others.

Companies often build front-end forms for the public folder to allow, for example, an employee to book a meeting room. The booking would then be imported into a public calendar for all to view, Baguley said.

However, Microsoft is de-emphasizing public folders in Exchange Server 2007, due for release at the end of this month, Baguley said. Exchange Server 2007 will still support public folders, but the version of Outlook accessible over the Internet won’t display them, according to Baguley. Exchange 14, a future release of the product, won’t support public folders at all, he said.

Microsoft is trying to get people who want the public folder-type functions to use SharePoint Server 2007, its collaboration and portal software, Baguley said.

Quest’s product, called the Public Folder Migrator for SharePoint, automates the movement of folders from Exchange to SharePoint while preserving the hierarchy of the folders and consistency of the data. The task can be done manually but it is a “painful” process, Baguley said.

Quest is offering an evaluation copy for download. Pricing in North America is US$25 per user or $15 for customers who are already using Site Administrator for Sharepoint, a collection of SharePoint management tools.

-Jeremy Kirk, IDG News Service (London Bureau)

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