Microsoft has quietly launched a competitor to Google Apps for your domain, Windows Live Community Builder.
The service offers customized versions of the Windows Live suite, including email, photo service, messenger, writer, livedrive and more for businesses or non for profit organizations ” looking to achieve deeper and more engaging connections with their community.”
The service includes company specific domain support with the ability to register a domain name via supported partners included in registration.
The service was first written about by one of Microsoft Australia’s evangelist team Harvey Sanchez here and does not seem to have been announced elsewhere. Sanchez does note that this is a soft launch so perhaps we’ll see more on the service shortly.
With Windows Live Community Builder, businesses or non for profit organisations or anyone looking at creating a community service can now achieve deeper and more engaging connections with their community through customised, branded online experiences. Whether they want branded, familiar email services for their community or a member’s only area on their web site, complete with calendaring, contacts, and mapping features; Windows Live Community Builder has what they, their administrators, and their technology partners need. It’s easy to get started and painless to maintain – and it includes the peace of mind that comes from the technology, experience, and market leadership they’d expect from Microsoft.
No details as to whether the service is paid or free, but given I couldn’t find any payment details I’m presuming free, at least for the base service.
If its free we would love it. Keep reporting more. We like to read you more & more on techmeme. By the way just butting in with this unrelated comment – Iphone is now officially available in India. You are not covering any of this? Have a look on our little site if you get time and you cover asia related topics.
I guess not
Thanks for the first part, but on the rest if you check with ET article the iPhone’s not officially available in India, Apple is even on record calling it “bootlegging” which is sort of funny in itself
Well but live sucks rite?
The question is, will POP and IMAP access be available for the mail portion without additional cost. Google’s recent addition of IMAP has made an excellent email app even better. If I could use POP and IMAP through Windows Live Community Builder, I’d at least give it a look.
it’s just Me-too product.. I’m already using Google App so I’m NOT gonna change..
im stickin with google like glue.
If it’s using hotmail for the email service I’m sticking with Google.
Google Apps have been awesome for me – I’ve ‘outsourced’ email, messaging, calendaring and docs to them. I’ve never experienced any downtime esp. with email. If I could have a sharepoint like service with MS-Live-Hosted, I would definitely use.
Its not a new product. Windows Live Community Builder is just a new marketing term for somethig that already exists. Its an amalgamation of all the services that got launched less than 2 weeks ago and is administered through http://admincenter.live.com
And yes, its free. It has POP and MPA support. It DOESN’T have an online word processor like Google Docs.
-Jamie
With Windows Live Community Builder, businesses or non for profit organisations or anyone looking at creating a community service can now achieve deeper and more engaging connections with their community through customised, branded online experiences. Whether they want branded, familiar email services for their community or a member’s only area on their web site, complete with calendaring, contacts, and mapping features; Windows Live Community Builder has what they, their administrators, and their technology partners need. It’s easy to get started and painless to maintain – and it includes the peace of mind that comes from the technology, experience, and market leadership they’d expect from Microsoft.
Windows Live Community Builder XP Pro 2008 Premium Home and Business Ultimate Edition SP2, or as we lovingly call it at Microsoft: WLCBXPPro2k8H&BUSP2
Having worked for Microsoft on a community team, there isn’t really anything communal about this… should have called it “team builder”.
So why hasn’t Microsoft followed Google’s lead and offer imap/pop/smtp access to windows live for free yet? Come on Yahoo/Microsoft you guys copied Googles moves on storage why not on this, it might actually make your services useful.
Ross,
They have! Unless I misunderstand you’re meaning.
-Jamie
I tried their “get a free domain with our CMS for small business” product last year and it was terrible. The interface gave me 3 ways to make the site look like it was built in Frontpage in 1998. Plus I lost the password and was never again able to gain access to the site nor the domain (which has expired by now).
Like everything else MS comes up with, I don’t hold out much hope for this.
A good try but I’ll continue with google ^^
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is they support imap/pop/smtp ??
So nice with windows live messanger!:D