Windows SBS 2008, Essential Business Server 2008 Coming Nov. 12
Windows Small Business Server 2008 and Windows Essential Business Server 2008
will officially launch on Nov. 12, Microsoft announced Monday.
The products are based on Windows Server 2008. SBS is the usual revamp of the
OS, tweaked and packaged with other products and specialized wizards for small
businesses. EBS, formerly known by the code name "Centro," is an entirely new
package aimed at mid-market customers.
Steven VanRoekel, senior director of the Windows Server Solutions group at
Microsoft, said the Nov. 12 launch will be virtual. With products that are so
heavily dependent on channel excitement and support, the Microsoft Worldwide
Partner Conference in Houston this week in many ways is the most important component
of the process.
To introduce partners to SBS and WEBS, Microsoft will include demonstrations
of the new products in about half a dozen WPC keynotes and try to get about
2,000 of the 7,000 partners in attendance trained on the new products, VanRoekel
says. By the launch, Microsoft hopes to have 25,000 partners trained on the
new products.
Also this week, Microsoft expects to put out an SDK, a Release Candidate 1
for both SBS and WEBS, and a new online tool for partners called the Solutions
Pathway.
VanRoekel provided RCP with a roadmap for the release schedule. "[Nov.
12 is] not our release to manufacturing date. We'll actually be RTMing about
two months before that. What [Nov. 12] really signifies to us is when these
products are broadly available. System builders will have it right away [after
the RTM]. The OEMs take about two months to get it on servers."
Posted by Scott Bekker on July 07, 2008