---
title: "Zimbra Desktop Launched – Growing Trend of Offline Access to Web Apps"
date: 2007-03-25
author: "Richard MacManus"
categories:
  - name: "ReadWriteWeb"
    url: "/category/readwriteweb.md"
tags:
  - name: "2007"
    url: "/tag/2007.md"
---

# Zimbra Desktop Launched – Growing Trend of Offline Access to Web Apps

![zimbra](https://web.archive.org/web/20111027005229im_/http://static.flickr.com/72/226909140_d3daf0dab3.jpg?v=0)[Zimbra](https://web.archive.org/web/20111027005229/http://www.zimbra.com/), one of the Web Office vendors we’ve been [tracking](https://web.archive.org/web/20111027005229/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/zimbra_mashing_up_office.php) for a while, will later today announce the launch of **Zimbra Desktop** – which enables offline access to Zimbra’s Ajax-powered collaboration suite. Zimbra will unveil Zimbra Desktop on stage today (Monday PT) at the ETech Conference in San Diego.

It’s a growing trend amongst Web app providers to provide offline access for their Ajax apps. In fact Mozilla is heading in this direction too, as [Firefox 3 will support offline access](https://web.archive.org/web/20111027005229/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/firefox_3_offline_apps.php) to web apps. As Zimbra put it, this trend means that web apps will be “available no matter where a user is’ at the office, on the road, or even in the air.” Another company we profiled recently, [Morfik](https://web.archive.org/web/20111027005229/http://www.morfik.com/), is [also developing offline web apps](https://web.archive.org/web/20111027005229/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/morfik_ajax_platform.php). Not to forget the web/desktop integration happening via platforms like [Adobe’s Apollo](https://web.archive.org/web/20111027005229/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/adobe_launches_apollo_alpha.php) and [Dekoh](https://web.archive.org/web/20111027005229/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/dekoh_challenges_apollo.php).

As noted in the press release, Zimbra Desktop will allow users to access their email, calendar, contacts, and documents while on the road, or in places without a network connection, through Zimbra’s familiar Ajax-based Web interface. When users come back online, all the changes that were made offline – such as composing, replying to, deleting, editing or moving messages, appointments, contacts or documents – will synchronize with the Zimbra server and mobile devices. Zimbra Desktop is compatible with Windows, Linux, and Mac; plus browsers Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari.

The Zimbra Desktop Alpha will be available soon from [www.zimbra.com/desktop](https://web.archive.org/web/20111027005229/http://www.zimbra.com/desktop). It works with the Zimbra Collaboration Suite (ZCS) 4.5+, which has an open source edition as well as commercial.

## Offline Web Apps a growing trend

What’s interesting about this trend for web apps to go offline, is that they’re still using the **web-based interface paradigm**. This is almost the reverse of the traditional pattern of web apps adopting desktop app paradigms. I hate to bring up the Yahoo Mail/Gmail comparison yet again, but Yahoo Mail was a prime example of a web app that adopted the interface paradigm of traditional Outlook-style desktop email clients. Gmail of course had a web native interface from the start.

Well now it’s happening in reverse. Online apps, like Zimbra, are being converted into desktop apps – but they are keeping their ‘web native’ interfaces.

A few years ago, many optimistic people predicted the demise of desktop apps due to the coming ‘always on’ broadband era (I think I may’ve been one of them!). But as we know, the reality today is that broadband access is problematic in some parts of the world – so offline access has turned out to be key in the web 2.0 world. I suppose one day we will finally reach the ‘always on’ nirvana, but for now it’s a good thing we have Zimbra, Morfik, Mozilla, Google and other companies producing offline desktop access to web apps.

**Related:**[Read/WriteWeb review of Zimbra, September 2006](https://web.archive.org/web/20111027005229/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/zimbra_mashing_up_office.php)

*Originally published on ReadWriteWeb ([archived copy](https://web.archive.org/web/20020204040018/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/zimbra_desktop_offline_web_apps.php))*