[Today's post comes to us courtesy of Dean Paron] 

After extensive development and private evaluation, I’m pleased to announce that a public preview of Windows Small Business Server 2008 RC0 is now available.

Windows SBS 2008 is the next major release in the Windows Small Business Server product family, and it offers a wave of new features for technology consultants and small business owners.  There are too many updates and changes to list in one post, but here are some highlights:

• A new setup and administrative experience that has been re-designed to make initial deployment and day-to-day management significantly easier
• Many new management features such as extensible monitoring reports, and tools to manage internet domain names, data folders, certificates and more
• A revamp of the Premium Edition to include both SQL Server 2008 Standard Edition technologies and a 2nd copy of Windows Server 2008  
• A new server backup wizard built on the Windows Server 2008 block-based backup technologies, which allows you to back up your server in minutes rather than hours
• A redesigned Remote Web Workplace with new features such as custom links, logos and user to computer mapping
• Built-in anti-virus and anti-spam support with 120-day trial subscriptions to Microsoft Forefront Security for Exchange Server and Windows Live OneCare for Server
• Integration with Microsoft Office Live Small Business to simplify setup and management of professional Web sites and extranets 
• And of course, updates to Microsoft’s newest server technologies: Windows Server 2008, Exchange Server 2007, SQL Server 2008, Windows Server Update Services v3, and Windows SharePoint Services v3

To learn more about the product and to enroll in the public preview program, please visit http://technet.microsoft.com/evalcenter/cc184870.aspx.

We look forward to your feedback.

Regards,
Dean Paron
Group Program Manager
Windows Small Business Server