Open source alternative to WebEx WebOffice?

Question

I have a client who has been using WebOffice (from WebEx) for a variety of tasks within their small organization. The problem is that they only really need a small subset of the features WebOffice provides (Contact list, Database, and Document Storage).

They've asked me to develop a website focused on these three features with the rationalization that this should be more cost-effective, since they currently aren't using many of the features of WebOffice they pay for.

What are some open-source alternatives that I could implement for them? Sharepoint sounds like it would be too bloated and Google Apps may not be as collaborative as they would like.

Answer 1

SharePoint sounds like a good match? Did whoever told you it was bloated also mention why? You might only need WSS which is free (if you have Windows Server).

Answer 2

My company hosts LumiPortal (www.lumiportal.com) which is similar to WebOffice but with drive letters for storage. If you have inhouse technical expertise, then on the open source side we see Joomla and Drupal, which could be thought of as classic content management systems. If you have in-house technical expertise, you might look at Drupal and their document management component first.

Answer 3

We looked at sharepoint and went like "meh". Anything interesting you want to do with it requires prohibitive licensing, and if you expose any piece of it to the internet then the cost just blows any budget away.

We are piloting a deployment of Alfresco, with KnowledgeTree also being a very decent option, IMO. As for the main site, something like OpenAtrium looks like a pretty decent and flexible fit without much configuration needed. OpenAtrium is based on Drupal.

Answer 4

Call WebOffice customer service and tell them. They will probably adjust your payment options to suit your needs.

Answer 5

There's a good roundup of online collaboration/office suites here although it is a bit dated now.

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/web_office_2007_year_in_review.php

Webex WebOffice hasn't been updated in 5 years and has been sunset by Webex with no migration path (confirmed in their forums) so I would get off it ASAP.

With the addition of Wave to Google Apps it would seem to be a much more cost effective and modern replacement.