Epicenter

Distribute your corporate address book to Blackberry® and Windows Mobile® users.

Product Description

The Problem: Blackberry and Windows Mobile devices seamlessly sync with each user's personal address book, but the company address book is much more difficult. If your users sync with Exchange Server, there's no way to give them a copy of all or part of the Global Address List. If your users' PDAs connect with POP3, there's no place to even keep a central address book, much less distribute it.

The Solution: Epicenter, from Connected Software, gives your users their own local copy of the corporate address book. Once the contacts are in each user's local address book, their PDA can synchronize with it. Updates are automatically distributed to users so local contacts are kept up to date.

How It Works: You start by installing Epicenter Server on a single computer. Installation is easy and takes less than five minutes. During installation, you configure Epicenter Server by telling it which address book to distribute, who should receive the address book, and how often to send updates. The address book could be your Exchange GAL, an Outlook Contacts folder, or any of several other formats.

Once you've configured Epicenter Server, updates are sent automatically on your given schedule. Each update follows these three steps:

Features

• Requires no additional software on the Blackberry or Windows Mobile phone.
• Address books are automatically recognized by existing synchronization software.
• Epicenter Server runs in the foreground or automatically with Windows Task Scheduler.
• Seamless integration with existing directories and email address books.
• Distributes all address book fields, including postal addresses, phone numbers, birthdays and anniversaries, and many other fields.
• Five-minute server installation with wizard-based setup.
• Runs without requiring a dedicated server computer.
• Fast incremental updates
• Updates can be sent via POP3, IMAP, http, or Windows file sharing.

Supported Formats

The applications and formats supported by Epicenter are shown below. Applications supported by the Server can be used as source address books to distribute to users. Applications supported by the Client are the applications supported for end users that can be automatically updated.

Product	Server	Client
Exchange Server GAL		-
Exchange Server Public Folder		-
Microsoft Outlook 2000-2007
Lotus Notes
Eudora		-
Netscape 7/Mozilla		-
Outlook Express
Thunderbird		-
Windows Contacts (Vista)

Licensing

One license is required for each user/mailbox that receives a copy of the address book. The license for the server is included with the client licenses.

If you are using Exchange Server, you only need licenses for users running Epicenter. Epicenter licensing is not tied to your Client Access Licenses (CAL).

Common Questions

How does Epicenter help if I already have Exchange Server?

If you have an Exchange Server, you've probably learned that solutions such as Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES) do not allow your users to synchronize their Blackberry address book with the GAL. Epicenter gives each user a local copy of the GAL, with which his or her PDA will automatically synchronize

I have a mix of users of both POP3 and Blackberry Enterprise Server users. Will Epicenter still work?

Yes, the only difference that the Blackberry POP3 users will need to synchronize the phone using their docking station. BES users will automatically synchronize over the air, if enabled.

Will someone have to go around to every client computer and install the Epicenter software?

No. Epicenter instructs users to go to a web page with clear, simple directions on how to install the Epicenter client. The Epicenter client is designed to install without requiring administrator permissions or a reboot.

Do the client and the server have to be running the same email program?

No. Epicenter uses its own compressed format to send address books and so can convert on-the-fly between different applications.

How big is the address book attachment that Epicenter sends?

Each contact takes an average of between 40 and 140 bytes, depending on whether it is just a name and email address or whether it contains street addresses and phone numbers. An address book with 400 entries will typically be between 20KB and 50KB.

How big can the address book be that I send to users?

Epicenter can handle address books with over ten thousands contacts, but four thousand entries should be considered the realistic maximum to prevent problems during synchronization.

Is technical support available if I have a question?

Yes. There is a knowledgebase of common problems or you can submit a support request. Technical support is included for one year from your date of purchase and continues as long as an active subscription is maintained.

Price