What is Zimbra Mail? The Ultimate Guide

In this comprehensive guide, you will explore everything about Zimbra including its collaboration suite, supported editions, services and more. You will also learn about its core components, features and security capabilities that help to protect email data.

What is Zimbra Mail? Overview

Zimbra Mail is a business email service and collaboration platform (formerly known as the Zimbra Collaboration Suite before 2019) that is mainly used by multiple companies/ enterprises, schools, government offices, and service providers to manage all communications from one place. It supports TGZ and ZDB file formats to export or backup Zimbra emails. Some of the key points about Zimbra Mail are mentioned below:

• Works as both an email server and a collaboration solution.
• Helps to manage emails, calendars, contacts, tasks and other files together.
• Support access via Zimbra webmail, desktop clients and mobile devices.
• Has in-built security features to protect user’s data and emails.

Zimbra Collaboration Suite (ZCS)

The Zimbra Collaboration Suite (ZCS) is the complete package that includes Zimbra Mail along with other collaboration tools. It holds all communication-related services together in one platform. This helps in seamless collaboration with teams and improved workflow.

ZCS includes:

• Email
• Calendars
• Contacts
• Tasks
• File sharing
• Administration and management tools

It is available in different editions so that organizations can choose any of them, based on their needs and budget.

Available Zimbra Editions

Zimbra is available in two editions.

Zimbra Open Source Edition (Zimbra OSE)

• It is free and open source.
• Lack enterprise level features and modern UI.
• Do not provide any safety net, if the server goes down, users need to find an answer themselves.
• Requires technical expertise to manually set up as the company has stopped making “easy installers” for this version.

Zimbra Network Edition

• It is a paid subscription but with enterprise-level support.
• Offers modern and fast web interface.
• Includes advanced security and keeps every data synced across devices.
• Support full technical assistance.

Core Components of Zimbra Mail

Zimbra is not just a single application, it is a team of different components that work together to provide you a smooth and safe experience. Each component has its own role & responsibility, so let’s understand them in simple terms.

• Zimbra Mail Server - It is the main engine of Zimbra. It handles sending, receiving and organizing emails using the standard protocols such as SMTP, IMAP or POP3. This helps to make sure that emails are delivered or kept properly
• Zimbra Web Client (Webmail) - It allows users to access emails directly through a web browser. Also, it provides an easy-to-use interface to users to check emails, attachments, contacts, calendars without installing any software.
• Zimbra Store - The Zimbra store is responsible for storing mailbox data including emails, calendar invites, attachments, metadata, contacts and other details safely and in an organized manner.
• Zimbra MTA (Mail Transfer Agent) - It moves emails from one server to another ensuring that emails should be delivered to the right person without any errors.
• Zimbra Directory Server - It stores all the usernames, passwords and user information to make sure only the authorised users can log in and access their mailboxes.
• Zimbra Desktop - This was an app that you could install on your computer to work without an internet connection. Since it is no longer in support and has been discontinued, many users have switched to Zimbra webmail or other email clients.

Zimbra Security Features

• It converts emails into a secure code that helps to protect data from hackers.
• Automatically detects and blocks harmful emails. This helps users to avoid spam messages.
• Zimbra requires a proper username and password before allowing access to email accounts, this feature offers user login protection from unauthorized access.
• Admins or Administrators can decide who can access certain features and data, this helps to maintain security and privacy.
• In Network Edition, Zimbra allows admins to create backup of their data which further helps to restore it easily when accidentally lost or deleted.

Zimbra Administration Capabilities

• Admins can create, update or remove email accounts.
• They can manage different company domains from one place.
• Zimbra allows them to monitor how the email system is working, to quickly identify the issue.
• Administrators can set mailbox size limits and control what features or data each user can access.
• They can decide how emails are stored, for how long they are kept, and can apply company policies for email usage.

Zimbra Compatibility and Integration

• Zimbra can be connected with desktop email clients like Outlook, Thunderbird and Apple Mail.
• Users can access Zimbra emails on smartphones and tablets including Android and iOS. This helps them to even stay connected when away from computers or systems.
• The Zimbra Mail works with different file formats but it mainly uses TGZ and ZDB file formats to store and export complex mailbox emails.
• It can connect with multiple directory services or other business tools which helps organizations to expand their system features.
• Zimbra allows users to sync calendars and contacts with other applications so that it can be managed across different devices.