As you’ve probably heard by now—Micro Focus has acquired GWAVA. As soon as it was announced—there were questions pouring in. Does this mean GroupWise will finally have a built-in archive/restoration function? Will the roadmap of either portfolio change? Will GWAVA kill off its support for other email platforms other than GroupWise? And on an on . . .



While I’d love to answer, anything I said would be speculation on my part. Instead, I want to focus on what this acquisition means to our existing Micro Focus GroupWise customers. I consider myself one of those—because I use GroupWise each and every day.

First of all, I know there’s been concern and worry over the collaboration portfolio. Is GroupWise dead? Will Micro Focus stop developing and improving it? Do they care about this product and portfolio? These have been constant questions from almost every GroupWise customer I’ve talked to. I think it’s natural to wonder. However, nothing speaks louder than actions.

Speaking of actions, let’s look at what’s been released lately. GroupWise 2014 R2 and GroupWise 2014 SP1 pushed the platform forward in important ways. Each release contained new features and demonstrated a commitment to the product. Better yet—the fact that they’ve put an active emphasis on incorporating the IDEAS portal suggestions into each new release was more than encouraging to me. Vibe itself also had two releases this year: Vibe 4.0.1 and Vibe 4.0.2.  Each release contained new features, not just bug fixes—indicating that Vibe is also being developed to.

On the heels of all these releases, Micro Focus also announced the acquisition of GWAVA, a company that has obvious connections to GroupWise. Yes—GWAVA also supports other email platforms with their products too. However, a clear, immediate winner here is the GroupWise customer. With this acquisition, we have a single source to get email archiving, restoration, anti-spam, and anti-virus. Talk about a win! This acquisition also offers new and exciting possibilities for development and integration of technologies, of course. I know I’m thrilled!

And for those that have been wondering about the future of GroupWise, I’m sure you’ve all heard about the next platforms that are being worked on in this area. If you haven’t—then you should definitely check out a new, forthcoming article Mike Bills and I wrote for Open Horizons Magazine. It’s all about the new platforms that are coming: code-named “Wasatch” and “Uinta”.

In action and direction—I think the message is clear: Micro Focus is committed to GroupWise and this portfolio. The GWAVA acquisition should dispel doubts that the GroupWise platform is disappearing!  What’s the old phrase—put your money where your mouth is?  Micro Focus has done exactly that.  I’m convinced!  Kudos Micro Focus!