The official blog for Windows Server Essentials and Small Business Server support and product group communications.
[Today's post comes to us courtesy David Fabritius from Windows Server Marketing]
Hi everyone,
I'm writing today about a significant milestone for Windows Small Business Server (Windows SBS). With the new Windows Server 2012 line up, Windows Small Business Server Essentials has been renamed Windows Server 2012 Essentials. By making Essentials a full-fledged member of the Windows Server family, we are reaffirming our commitment to delivering a flexible, cloud-enabled server platform that is designed and priced for small businesses and the partners that serve them. Formalizing Essentials as a core edition of Windows Server 2012 will more clearly communicate how it fits into the Windows Server family and give it more visibility as a product.
We believe Windows Server 2012 Essentials is the most affordable and easy-to-use server solution for small businesses to date, helping customers with up to 25 users and 50 devices reduce costs and be more productive. It is an ideal first server, and can also be used as the primary server in a multi-server environment for small businesses. It helps you to protect, centralize, organize, and access your applications and information from almost anywhere by using virtually any device. Additionally, Essentials can grow with the needs of your business over time; you can purchase and convert to Windows Server 2012 Standard, removing the maximum user and device limits while retaining all your data and configuration settings as well as the unique value-add features that Essentials provides.
Windows Server 2012 Essentials has been designed to give you the flexibility to choose which applications and services run on-premises and which run in the cloud. In contrast to Windows SBS Standard, Essentials offers lower up-front acquisition and deployment costs. It allows you to take advantage of cloud-based messaging offerings while enjoying an integrated management experience by subscribing to Office 365 or a hosted Exchange service. If you prefer a fully on-premises solution, you have the option of running Exchange Server on a second server (either as a physical or virtual machine) alongside Essentials with the same integrated management experience.
Windows Server 2012 Essentials can also be used as a platform to run line-of-business applications and other on-premises workloads, as well as to provide an integrated management experience when running cloud-based applications and services, such as email, collaboration, online backup, and more.
Windows SBS 2011 Standard, which includes Exchange Server and SharePoint Foundation, will be the final such Windows SBS offering. It will remain available through the OEM channel until December 31, 2013, and will remain available in all other current channels until June 30, 2013. For additional details, please see the Windows Server 2012 Essentials FAQ. I hope to see you at the 2012 Worldwide Partner Conference starting July 8 in Toronto, Canada, where we’ll be talking more about Windows Server 2012 Essentials, and we’ll also let you know when you can try it out.
This will save our clients a lot of money while we continue to support Office 2003 and SBS 2011 until 2020. Imagine 10 years without having to go through Microsoft Licensing or worry about upgrades? And think of the revenues our clients will save and get to spend on us patching older systems. Then after 10 years Apple / Google might have a free solution which does the job.
Is there any more information on if you purchase SBS 2011 with Software Assurance if you'll be eligible to upgrade to Exchange 2013 when it is released? Or will you be limited to the stand alone version of 2010?
mnri, if your going to purchase SBS 2011 with software assurance, do it now. my reseller Tech Data is changing skus etc at the end of July! Good luck ordering it then!
For most small businesses and the IT Consultants that serve them, Windows Server 2012 Essentials will not fly. This is a huge mistake by Microsoft. Saying one still has the option for on-premise deployment, is a joke that many people find offensive. This is the first serious Microsoft induced head scratcher for me. I mean, is it really wise thinking for the small business market? To replace some of the functionalities of SBS 2011 Standard you have to go through this entire hoop and expense?
1. Install Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows Server 2012 Standard (A whole day’s work)
2. Install Hyper-V Virtualization Machine (Hours of work)
3. Create Virtual Machine running Windows SBS 2012 Essentials (Hours of work)
4. Create Virtual Machine running Exchange Server (Hours of work)
5. Turn on the integration with Windows Server 2012 Essentials (Who knows)
I don’t know how many small businesses have such capacity or can afford to pay a consultant do all that! I mean this takes some serious work and cash, not to mention the potential minefield of support issues along the way.
Microsoft Self-created crisis in the making.
Guys, seriously !! Start selling Cloud, grow with it, don't resist it.
Nox: Sure, we would love to (not really). Small problem is that SBCs in my country usually have DSL connection with parameters like 8/0.5Mbit. If you know the way how to pull through SharePoint and Exchange traffic for 20 active users, tell me. Not to mention security. For example the small detail that your data is stored in country with different laws then yours. "No freaking way in hell" solution for half companies that use SBS that I know of.
I agree with a lot of the comments, however I do understand that Miccrosoft, like eveyone else, wants to make sure that they run a profitable business. However I think that by dropping a product that they have improved to the point where its an excellent and essential tool for small businesses, and forcing the small bussinesses to look at the cloud options and renewable charges (which many do not want) is somewhat arrogant.
In reality, why would a company now choose Microsoft ? Apple have a nice cheap server add-on to their os, make nice kit and basically attract end-users. or Google docs and their domain stuff - cheaper than 365 and been around longer. At least with SBS you have a must have app - sort of like the IPhone in the small business world - I don't think Apple would be so silly as to drop it do you ? Even if it lost them money its brilliant for marketing as it gets them out in people's pocket.
Don;t get me worng, I am a Microsoft fan, however this is enough to make me look seriously at alternatives for myself and the the 50-60 companies I support - I guess this will be the same for most small it support proffesionals!
Worst decision in the history of mankind! you destroyed my company and life! grow up people. MS doesn't owe you anything despite how loyal u believe you've been, capitalism and all. just because it affects you adversely, doesn't mean it's the wrong decision for MS and the market overall. selfish? no, of course you're not. i have yet to make come down on either side of the argument, but the comments here are ridiculous.
your clients can still have onsite exchange etc, they however will have to pay more for the privilege. my clients will whinge too. as for the "how do I explain to my clients....", try being honest, this is how it is now, if you wanna upgrade MS has changed the landscape and these are your options. it's not rocket science.
Cloud based what a joke I have hordes of customers who went cloud and now have come back to on premises, Small businesses need simple tco and simple to use That is what SBS is they have just pushed milions of users to linuxed based sbs like clearos Thanks Microsoft for being Stupid and not understanding your cutsomers needs
Cloud is not the answer! I have deployed SBS boxes for all of my clients with less thant 60 users. To see this go away is going to be a massive blow to many of my clients. I will just stock pile SBS 2011 licenses and run through thoughs until Microsoft pulls its head out of its rear.
SBS was a bloated horridly priced mess. I can get most if not all of SBS functionality with hyper-v running server standard for AD(if needed), and another vm running Linux and Zimbra for everything else. I'm an MS partner and i was this coming and began developing a new platform for SBS customers..:) i'ts time the MS SBs community did too.
Way to go Microsoft, if I'm going to be forced to sell a cloud solution you can be sure as hell it won't be an MS offering.
We do not have sufficient bandwidth in my area of the UK for hosted anything, it's on premises or it's crap.
Drop SBS and we will drop MS, simple.
Posted from my iMac.
We've been on track with SBS since the first version. Now, we have to either make SBS2008 the next XP, or move to something else! We were working on our upgrade plans for Win 8 for our clients, but that is all on hold for now. Why upgrade windows when we will end up on LINUX as soon as our software rewrite is done? This is the second time Microsoft screwed us. We had Great Plains Small Business Manager, they killed it and we had to pay a butt-load more for the higher end "Great Plains" software. Now, killing SBS for no other reason than to soak us again for more cash.... screw that! I am working on a rebuild of our custom apps to web apps to get the portability with the lowest rewrite cost, and starting research to dump GP. This is the last time I'll let MS screw me over! I priced out the 2012 crap, and it just isn't worth the switch. So it's SBS until MS dumps it, then on to the open world! BAD DECISION MS, NOT ONLY ON THE SERVER, BUT CANCELLING ALL OF OUR WIN 8 UPGRADES (OS, TABLETS, PHONES) IS KILLING A LOT OF PREP AND RESEARCH TIME! WHOEVER MADE THIS DECISION SHOULD BE SENT TO THE SOUP LINES WHILE LOOKING FOR A JANITOR JOB AT A SMALL BUSINESS TO GET RE-AQUAINTED WITH THE SMALL BUSINESS MAN!!!!!
www.youtube.com/watch
Absolutely disgusted with MS for dropping SBS Standard - How are small businesses with low speed internet going cope with 365?
Absolutely disgusted!
Windows Server 2012 Essentials is not a viable replacment for SBS. First off, Essentials has a license limit of 25, while SBS was 75. Microsoft has left a gapping hole in their server market for larger small businesses who want to host everything on-premises, for companies who don't want their intellectual property out there "somewhere" on the cloud, and for companies that want maximum performance.
They may have very well left themselves open to other OS solutions on this one. Small businesses are cost conscious.