It won't be long now as Microsoft announces Small Business Server 2008

February 20th: Microsoft has taken the wraps off the shiny new SBS 2008 as part of the newly announced Windows Essential Server Solutions family.

Combined with the previously announced Windows Essential Business Server 2008 (WEBS), the new range of servers will provide small & medium businesses with increased functionality, as well as the security of knowing that a robust upgrade path is available to them as their business grows. More information (pricing, availability, specific FAQ etc) will be coming shortly & so watch this space.

Now - that's the corporate bit over. :-)

My personal take focuses on three questions - the answers to which we will all get a better idea on as we take this path together over the months leading up to launch (sometime in mid-late 2008):

• • Why will your customers want to upgrade to SBS 2008 or potentially migrate to WEBS 2008? Not every customer will want every feature & sometimes the bits you leave out of your solution are as important as what you put in (though I do think there's enough under the hood in the new kit for you to have a very good conversation with most)
  • How will this fit in with the burgeoning world of hosted services? Even though I don't necessarily agree with every point, Vlad has an interesting take on this.
  • What will you be doing over the coming months to get ready for it?

I'll be out on the road for most of March at the Windows Server 2008 / Wave launch events, where I'll be presenting WS2008, SBS & WEBS to over 1,000 small business focused partners. If you're going (most cities are now full), I'd love to hear your feedback on the three questions posed above.

Cheers,

Robbie