In The Know - Charles Van Heusen's Weblog

Syspine Response Point Systems are available at Costco.com!

I was surprised to find this solution available online today.  If you are looking for a great VOIP entry point solution that is simple to setup, here it is...   If I was a local partner, I'd contact my local Costco and work with them to get referrals for customers that would like someone to setup up the solutions and integrate them into their networks.

SBS2008 Public Preview is LIVE!!!!!

♦ The SBS Team has signed off on RC0!   ♦

Dean Paron and the SBS Team have hit their milestone and are ready to share the product with the rest of the world!    You can sign up for the public preview today at the following site:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/cc184870.aspx

For details on RC0  - See Dean's Site or the SBS Team Blog.

Let the SBS Product Team hear from YOU!!!

I was asked to help get as many partners to take this survey as possible to make sure we are on the right track.  I've posted the request from Kevin Beares, our Community Lead for each of you to read...

The Windows Small Business Server 2008 WW Community Survey is live

This is the third year we have published an SBS WW Community Survey to the SBS Community.

We have learned an amazing amount of information from the people who have taken the time to tell us what they thought. Some things we kind of knew already, but other things were not as clear before we had received the feedback.

Because of the previous surveys, we have made some adjustments in our community engagement. To name a few; we really worked on putting more focus on the Official SBS Blog. Our Sustaining Engineering team runs mini betas with our MVPs before KB's and Bug Fixes are released via Windows Update. We try to get more involvement in our techbetas from our User Groups. The list does go on.

To the survey, the SBS Product Team would like to hear from the Windows SBS Community again. This survey is completely anonymous. In fact, some of you may have to sign out from Live in order to take the survey. So, if you get a PAGE NOT FOUND error message, please log out of Live and click on the link to the survey again.

We want to know how valuable your experience is with the community resources and information that is available to you today as a member of the Windows SBS Community. We also want to know what you think could be done to improve your Windows SBS Community Experience. Please take a couple of minutes to provide us your candid feedback via this survey and let us know what you think.

SBS WW Community Survey 2008

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

Kevin Beares
Community Lead – WSSG

Windows Essential Server Solutions Public Preview Program is Live! Sign up Today!

Good News for Partners and Customers alike ...  You can now sign up for the preview release of Windows Small Business Server 2008 and / or Windows Essentials Business Server 2008 online at

https://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver/essential/default.mspx

You'll find a variety of resources that will help your customer's understand the potential these solutions will provide for their businesses as well as what they will do for your practice in the upcoming years ahead.

I hope everyone signs up and takes advantage of this program so you can start testing scenarios based upon the industries you support.

Happy Testing!

SBS2008 (Cougar) and EBS2008 (Centro) Pricing Announced Today!

Let me start out by saying "Don't Shoot the messenger", Good, bad or indifferent, I'm just trying to get the word out on the pricing and product details as they become available to me.  This information is so new, they have yet to debrief us as to the reasons for the pricing models that were selected.

Here's the details from the press release that is going out this morning.

Slated for general availability later this year, Windows Essential Server Solutions are much easier for small and midsize companies to implement and manage than separate products. In response to customer and partner feedback, Windows Essential Server Solutions provide flexible pricing and licensing that offer substantial cost savings over purchasing individual products like those included in the solutions. Examples of licensing improvements over the current Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 product include these:

• Customers will be able to purchase single client access licenses (CALs), so they will pay only for the exact number of employees using the product.
• Customers can cost-effectively purchase a mix of Standard or Premium CALs, as appropriate to the technologies that individual employees are using.
• CALs now apply to other copies of Windows Server, SQL Server or Exchange Server on the network, eliminating the need to purchase additional CALs.

Also, Small Business Server 2008 Premium Edition includes additional Windows Server 2008 Standard technologies with SQL Server 2008 Standard Edition for Small Business, making it an ideal platform for critical business applications.

Windows Essential Server Solutions pricing* is as follows:

• Windows Small Business Server 2008 Standard Edition software, including five CALs, $1,089 (U.S.); additional CALs $77 each (U.S.)
• Windows Small Business Server 2008 Premium Edition software, including five CALs, $1,899 (U.S.); additional CALs $189 each (U.S.)
• Windows Essential Business Server 2008 Standard Edition software, including five CALs, $5,472 (U.S.); additional CALs $81 each (U.S.)
• Windows Essential Business Server 2008 Premium Edition software, including five CALs, $7,163 (U.S.); additional CALs $195 each (U.S.)

Microsoft also today announced rebates of up to $200 (U.S.) for solution provider partners configuring Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 for their clients who acquire the software and purchase Software Assurance within a certain time period. With Software Assurance, customers will receive the upgrade to Small Business Server 2008 at no additional cost when it is available, as well as access to support, tools and training. Terms and conditions of the rebates are available at http://www.SBSrebate.com.

More information about the products, pricing and beta customer feedback is available at http://www.microsoft.com/ess. More information for journalists is available at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/serversolutions.

WPC 2008 Registration Discounts for SBSC Partners!

WPC: 2008 SMALL & MIDSIZE BUSINESS PARTNER FORUM AND SMB TRACK

Register for the third annual Microsoft Small and Midsize Business Partner Forum (formerly known as the Small Business Symposium). This year, for the first time ever, the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference will include an end-to-end experience for partners focused on the small- and midsize-business market segment. We’ll feature a one-day interactive event on July 7, as well as a new small- and midsize-business track throughout the entire Worldwide Partner Conference, taking place July 7-10 in Houston.

SBSC partners can take advantage of special discount WPC pricing of USD$1395 (full conference fee is USD$1795) – details, special registration code and link to the registration tool can be found online.  Partners using the special registration code will be automatically registered for the SMB Partner Forum on July 7^th. 

The Small and Midsize Business Partner Forum, held on the first day of the conference, is a networking and learning event for Microsoft Small Business Specialists and other SMB-focused technology providers who want to strengthen their small-business practices. During the interactive one-day Small and Midsize Business Partner Forum—and through the first-ever small- and midsize-partner track held throughout the Worldwide Partner Conference--you’ll have the chance to gain insight on how to balance customer needs with your own growth objectives.

When you attend the Worldwide Partner Conference and the Small and Midsize Business Partner Forum, you can:

• Learn strategies from industry experts to help you effectively focus your time, increase your business value, and grow your business.
• Hear from Microsoft executives about the company’s direction in the small- and midsize-business marketplace.
• Interact with your peers and learn successful best practices that you can implement in your business.
• Prepare for the upcoming launch of Windows Small Business Server 2008.
• Build core skills and strategies that align with the small- and midsize-business segment.