Gwen Demulder

Well my previous blog post mentioned that all components were available for the next version of Windows Small Business Server. Well this week Microsoft announced that the new one will be called “7″.

The key components that were updated were indeed Windows Server 2008 R2, Sharepoint and Exchange 2010. The Remote Web Workplace has been renamed to Remote Workspace App. It has also had a major overhaul making it look even better. Shared folders can also be made available on it, the components can also be dragged into different order. From what is visible right now the SBS Console is still pretty much the same (which is a good thing!).

Windows Aurora is a new product. It is meant for small business’ up to 25 users. It cannot be added to existing domains, migration from another server is also not an option. This product is aiming for new clients. It also features a Windows Home Server Disk management service. You can just insert a disk and it is added to the pool. It doesn not provide Exchange or Sharepoint out of the box. These functions can however be bought as an extra service from microsoft. I don’t know if this “cloud” approach will be successful on the market. Basing a professional product on a platform that is meant for home use does not seem like a super idea to me (even though that home product was in its own based upon a professional product). To be honest, I fear that Aurora will end up next to Windows Essential Business Server which was discontinued.

You can find out more about these products on these following pages:

• Windows Small Business Server 7 Showcase
• Small Business Server Blog
• Paul Thurrott (even though I don’t agree on his Small Business Server opinions)