Kopano is an open-source groupware application suite originally based on Zarafa. The initial version of Kopano Core (KC) was forked from the then-current release of the Zarafa Collaboration Platform and superseded ZCP in terms of lineage as ZCP switched to maintenance mode with patches flowing from KC. Kopano WebApp similarly descended from Zarafa WebApp. Since October 2017, Kopano Core is also known more specifically as Kopano Groupware Core, since Kopano B.V. developed more products that were not directly requiring groupware components.

The original goal of ZCP was to be a replacement for Microsoft Exchange so that users could retain Outlook as a client application. While Kopano's business strategy has shifted towards providing a comprehensive office collaboration suite in its own right, Kopano Core still supports connections from Outlook clients either via Z-push/ActiveSync, or the (by now unsupported) Zarafa Windows MAPI plugin.

The Kopano Outlook Extension add-in for Outlook provides the Outlook functionality that ActiveSync alone doesn't support. This includes (for example) support for Out of Office or Public Folders. ActiveSync and Kopano Outlook Extension together are therefore able to fully integrate the Kopano backend within Outlook in a corporate environment.

WebApp plugins exist to perform advanced group tasks such as accessing cloud-based storage solutions (e.g. owncloud/nextcloud), for integrated video conference (web meeting) or for handling S/MIME email within WebApp.

A desktop application, DeskApp, is also available. This is the same look and feel as WebApp but integrates directly with the user's desktop and it is available for Windows, Linux or Mac.

All server-side components (Kopano Core) and WebApp are published under the Affero General Public License (AGPL).