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Exchange4Linux does exactly this. Works pretty well, we've got a shitload of email (videos too), 5000+ contacts and all manner of data sitting in a PostgreSQL database.

It's NICE being able to execute SQL queries on your aggreate communications data. Perfect example: Our Asterisk head-end system knows which of our customer service people is on pager duty with an SQL query which looks at their service calendar. :-)

The idea is to divorce the database functionality from the email/calendaring functionality. You could use a regular client for the later (such as Outlook) while you'd develop documents dealing with projects inside the Wiki.

Exchange4Linux can get you started very quickly. Everything and I mean everything is in a PostgreSQL database, and it's written in Python. Easy to use, easy to extend. I am currently using it with about 50 Outlook contacts and am doing my part to help make the standards-based IMAP4 server function better.

Exchange4Linux does the same thing, but with Python and PostgreSQL. At first I hated the idea but man it does work remarkably well.

Meh. This is why I'm putting my money and energy into Exchange4Linux -- it's a MUCH better Exchange Server replacement than anything else I've tried, and that includes SLOX, Bynari, OGO, Kroupware, Samsung Contact and whatever else I've forgotten. Server is free and totally open-source (written in Python) and runs Postgres for the backend. Outlook connectors are reasonably priced, too.

You have no idea how wonderful it is to just drag and drop the user's store into E4L and then be able to use straight SQL to pull data out. I haven't yet tried inserting data but it looks to be just as straightforward. And no goofy-ass web-based crap is involved. :-)

I'm sorry but SLOX is not anywhere near a decent groupware system. Nice try. My vote (and my money) has gone to Exchange4Linux. I've evaluated SLOX, Samsung Contact, OpenExchange or whatever the hell the humongous OO-branded thing is, the various web-based crap out there and probably half a dozen other's I've since forgotten. E4L's server-side is open source, actively developed and the Outlook client is reasonably priced. The backend runs entirely inside of PostgreSQL and is written in Python. MTA interface is agnostic but documented with Postfix. non-outlook people can access the entire system through IMAP, although that is still not quite there.

As I said everything is stored in a PG database -- I can access any part of the system through SQL and it's stored to make Outlook happy which means no weird-ass compatibility problems that I've seen in every other client. The weird-ass issues I encounter with E4L and Outlook revolve around parts that are still in development. :-)

SLOX is top-selling groupware? Forget it.

Like this? It is a little slow at the moment but works very well.

So, could Postgres be used to develop a Lotus Notes type application with replicated databased for e-mail, calendars, team rooms, etc?

It's not Notes, but it is gunning to be an Exchange replacement. I have been testing it to replace our Exchange 5.0 server and it seems to work rather well. A little slow yet but they are addressing speed issues. It is very nice having all my Outlook and Exchange data somewhere I trust, and that can be backed up easily, and can be accessed outside of Outlook and MAPI. Steltor CorporateTime would have worked but Oracle's trashed it.

It's really quite a piece of work. In fact it looks like it might be the most comprehensive guide yet written on how to migrate to opensource. This is good stuff.

Yeah, riiiiiiiight.

The first thing I do with any of these 'migration' things is to flip straight to the bit on groupware since that is the single most difficult piece of the puzzle to place; especially document management and scheduling.

What does this paper say? I paraphrase: "Er... well... there's no real option other than web-based groupware although there's Kroupware that we have yet to evaluate."

Really... you could have fooled me!

Then the comments on document management are that the only project they know of is no longer actively maintained.

They really didn't look very hard! (And that's not the only option.)

Really, when I see that they gloss over possibly the most important (read: least known) parts then I'm anything but impressed.

Ugh... hate to say it... Outlook client using exchange.

Outlook? You could use Evolution or Moz Mail + Moz Calender (soon to be Moz Thunderbird + Moz Sunbird).

Exchange? You could use Exchange4Linux or Apache James + JiCal or OpenGroupware.

There are decent Exchange replacements out there, quite a number of them. We just don't seem to be able to generate the same kind of awareness that we can for other office components.

Let's not put the cart before the horse. Get a solid open-sourced replacement for basic Exchange Server functionality (Contacts, Calendar, Email, etc...) and the add-ons will happen FAST.

Like this? I'm not saying it's perfect (closed source MAPI connector), but everything and I mean everything is stored in pgsql and 99% of it is in plain English. I've just been playing with it these past few days (importing 4000 contacts, about 2500 emails, shared folders, calendars, etc.) and checking it out... works over CORBA. Server runs Python (ick). So far so good though, but man do you need a beefy system (fast disks a necessity!) for this to work. My existing P90 Exchange 5.0 server takes this out (on a dual Cel466) at the knees for speed, but I'm positive it's disk-bound.

I think you can download it from www.exchange4linux.org