Small Business Server Update May Not Be Enough

The next version of Windows Small Business Server (SBS) features two editions: Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials (code-named Aurora) and Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard (code-named SBS7). SBS Essentials should be generally available in the first half of 2011, and SBS Standard should be available from OEMs in Feb. 2011. Although this SBS version updates the various component products such as Windows Server to their latest version, user restrictions leave gaps in the product line, and one popular beta feature will not appear in production. The ability of the products to succeed alongside cloud services remains to be proven.

New Product for Smaller Businesses

The planned SBS line will eventually include three products:

SBS Essentials offers small businesses a server running a basic set of on-premises infrastructure services such as file, print, and directory. It is intended to act as a first server for an organization that relies on hosting providers (including Microsoft) for other basic services such as e-mail, and it is licensed for a maximum of 25 users or devices.