Autonomy rival offers trade-in scheme

C2C warns that mid-market customers could be hurt most by ongoing row

Email management vendor C2C has added to HP's Autonomy woes by targeting its mid-market installed base with a trade-in programme.

Customers currently using Autonomy's email archiving products – including those from acquisitions Mimosa and Zantaz – can switch to C2C's ArchiveOne offering for the price of their existing maintenance costs.

The vendor, which runs offices in Reading and Massachusetts, says it can offer clients an easy transition to its technology. It claims that ArchiveOne can allow users to comply with necessary regulatory requirements and make use of e-discovery for live and archived data.

Dave Hunt, chief executive of C2C, said: "With HP's recent $8.8bn (£5.5bn) write-off for its Autonomy acquisition, the customers that stand to lose out the most are those in the mid-market. HP will be forced to recoup its acquisition investment from Autonomy's largest customers and as a result HP's product development efforts for the mid-market customer will all but evaporate.

"Companies between 500 and 10,000 users should not have to break the bank to achieve their archiving, retention and e-discovery goals. Nor should they settle for solutions that do not have a strong commitment towards development and future innovation."