Virtual office on the internet

Amphora intranet:
extendable virtual office and groupware system

Amphora is a browser-based comprehensive collaborative environment, offering basic office functionality: documents, calendars, tasks, contacts, discussion, databases, web email, etc.

Amphora is built upon Linux and mainstream free software components, making it a highly open solution.

Product details of the light freeware version

Shared and private documents: add, delete documents, change access rights
Calendaring: private and group calendars with private and repeating events and accepting/refusing tasks.
Task list. Accepting/refusing tasks. Synchronization with MS Outlook.
Web-based and mailinglist discussions for each department, project and document.
Contact database. Synchronization with MS Outlook.
Databases: it is easy to create and use simple internet databases
Mail server and web mail.
Backup copies and system administration via browser.
Registering users and managing their access rights.

Important qualities

Amphora is simple to use and manage.
An ordinary web browser is all the software that is necessary to the end user: no need to install special software.
Special software exists for easy synchronization with MS Outlook and MS Windows file system.
No restrictions on the document format.
Documents, tasks and projects are integrated and can be easily connected with each other.
Built-in https security.
Modular design makes it easy to continue development.
XML import and export of data.
Interface language can be selected by the user. Easy to extend to other languages beside English.
Based on Linux and open source software.

Technology

Amphora is built on top of mainstream open source systems:

Linux operating system.
Apache www server.
MOD_SSL security layer for https.
PostgreSQL database engine.
Bsddb database engine used by the full text index.
Sendmail and Qmail e-mail servers.
Zope application server.
Python programming language and libraries.
MS Windows client written in Delphi uses Mozilla crypto library for electronic signatures

All files and documents are kept in the standard file system, unchanged, and are made accessible via www using the secure, SSL-enhanced Apache server.

All the information except files is kept in the SQL database using PostgreSQL server. Full text indexes are kept in a special bsddb database.

User interface programming is done mainly via the Zope application server. System programs are written in Python. You can use documented Python API-s for enhancing the system.

The special Windows client is built using Borland Delphi, uses Mozilla cryptolibrary for electronic signatures and PGP for encryption/decryption.

Amphora does not pose high requirements on hardware. In principle Amphora could be run on a small Linux desktop workstation with 64 MB of memory, but we highly recommend a small server-class machine with at least 128 MB or 256 MB of RAM for good perfromance with a number of multiple users. Requirements for hardware rise as the usage becomes more intense.

Licensing, support and development

Amphora light is free, distributed with a GPL licence, with no restrictions on distribution or modifying.

The developer

Original copyright of Amphora Light belongs to IT Meedia OÜ (www.itmeedia.ee)

Amphora was developed by a small software company IT Meedia. The company was founded in 1996, in order to take advantage of the quickly developing internet technology.

In their previous development- and academic background the founders had assembled the critical mass of competences necessary to develop cutting edge solutions to the needs of internet-supported economy.

The company was owned jointly by several private founders and employees, one of the largest IT companies in Estonia, Baltic Computer Systems, and a venture capital fund New Economy Funds.

Contact

IT Meedia
itmeedia@itmeedia.ee
+372 51 37149