October 12, 2004

Windows Small Business Server 2003: Much More Than a Server

I used Microsoft's Small Business server for many years and only released upgraded to Windows Server. Small businesses have many options for our networking inlucding Emerge Core's IT IN A BOX, Netix, and other solutions but MS SBS has a good combination of being easy to use, feature rich and supported by an army of resellers and consultants.

Windows Small Business Server 2003 is quickly becoming the No. 1 server for small businesses. Sixty-one percent of small businesses say they currently use or plan to deploy Windows Small Business Server, according to a Web-based survey sponsored by Microsoft and published in May by the Yankee Group, a Boston-based computing and communications consultancy.

Windows Small Business Server 2003 provides small businesses with many of the same features used by large enterprises -- e mail, secure Internet connectivity, business intranets, remote connectivity, support for mobile devices, file and printer sharing, backup and restore capabilities, and an application platform for collaboration -- all in an inexpensive, easy to deploy and maintain package.

Microsoft industry partners reported sales increases of 100 percent or even 300 percent or 400 percent in the 12 months ending in May -- a spike they attributed directly to Windows Small Business Server deployments, according to the Yankee Group survey.

"It's a very happy circumstance for many of the consultants and systems integrators (SIs) who were really suffering under the dry spell where people just weren't deploying too much of anything," says DiDio. "They are booked solid, working flat out." (full story from Microsoft)

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