Zapatec takes on established email solutions with 6zap
There are countless email products out there already, but a web development startup called Zapatec seems to think there’s room for one more. The Berkeley, Calif. company just launched its web-based email, calendar and contact offering called 6zap. Founder Dror Matalin pitches 6zap an alternative that’s fast, cheap and easy to use like Gmail, but has the customizability of a more business-oriented product.
From a user perspective, 6zap looks solid, if unremarkable — built using the Ajax framework, 6zap’s basic layout is similar to Microsoft Outlook. Its drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to sort through emails, and it has most of the normal features you expect. But 6zap’s real advantage is on the backend. With relatively easy-to-use dropdown menus, administrators can set up new accounts, customize the layout and add company branding. That makes the process much easier and cheaper than setting up (for example) a Microsoft Exchange server, because companies don’t need to hire an IT person to tailor 6zap to their needs.
The product works either as a downloadable application or as a machine image in Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud (which backs up your emails). It’s also open source, which means companies can alter the code to plug the application into their own products or add their own features. Zapatec is even releasing a free, open source version that’s targeted at individual users, then charging for a product that’s tailored for larger companies.
I don’t think 6zap will tempt VentureBeat away from our Gmail accounts (unless the service starts to fail more often), but it could be a tempting alternative for larger companies that find Gmail too limiting. And some big tech players are still looking to startups for innovation in this space: Cisco acquired PostPath for $215 million in August, while Yahoo bought Zimbra for $350 million last year.
Zapatec is self-funded.
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About the Author, Anthony Ha
Anthony is VentureBeat's assistant editor, as well as its reporter on enterprise technology, cloud computing, and tech policy. Before joining VentureBeat in 2008, Anthony worked at the Hollister Free Lance, where he won awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for breaking news coverage and writing. He attended Stanford University and now lives in San Francisco. Reach him at anthony@venturebeat.com. You can also follow Anthony on Twitter.
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