VMware has announced the launch of VMware Zimbra 7 – the latest version of its next generation email and collaboration platform.

Available today, customers can download Zimbra Collaboration Server 7 (formerly Zimbra Collaboration Suite) along with beta versions of VMware Zimbra Desktop 7 and VMware Zimbra Appliance 7 at http://www.zimbra.com/downloads.VMware Zimbra 7 features new data sharing capabilities, expanded calendaring and search functionality, and upgraded management features for both IT and end-users.

With this update, Zimbra is further optimized for both the casual and power-user, establishing a platform for a next-generation workspace within the VMware End-User Computing vision.

VMware’s End-User Computing vision seeks to free users and IT from more than two decades of complex, device-centric computing and deliver a more consumer-focused cloud experience for the enterprise. VMware Zimbra is among the largest business collaboration providers and is the largest on premise open source collaboration suite in terms of paid mailboxes.

Jim Morrisroe, vice president, Zimbra Products, VMware said, “VMware Zimbra continues to be the fastest-growing enterprise collaboration solution – now with more than 66 million paid mailboxes and more than 200,000 organizations using VMware Zimbra as their next-generation collaboration platform of choice.”

VMware Zimbra Collaboration Server 7, along with beta versions of VMware Zimbra Desktop 7 and VMware Zimbra Appliance 7 are now available for download here. The full suite of VMware Zimbra products is available through VMware sales and via VMware’s more than 25,000 channel partners.