I don’t normally write about specific technology products, but last week Microsoft released to manufacturing a great new product called Windows MultiPoint Server 2011. This product has been revved from the previous version and I think has a great application for those of us serving small businesses. The previous version was only designed for education users – but this version – while still designed with education in mind – has a significant play for us in SMB.
With Windows MultiPoint Server 2011, the licensing and purchase model has been simplified. There are still two versions as before, with similar restrictions:
• Windows MultiPoint 2011 Standard – still cannot join a domain and still has a max of 10 work stations
• Windows MultiPoint 2011 Premium – CAN join a domain as before and can have up to 20 workstations
The most important piece of information to note in the SMB space, is that BOTH of these MultiPoint editions are offered in multiple Microsoft licensing channels. So now you don’t have to be a large school to actually purchase the more useful edition of MultiPoint. And that is where our opportunity comes in.
Imagine going to your small business customer with this solution. You walk in the door and are told they don’t have any money to upgrade their network. Their equipment is 5-7 years old and you have been holding things together with baling wire for the last couple years. They have a dozen XP workstations and a server that has run out of space so it is eating you alive on your managed service program as you have to clean files weekly just to keep it up and running.
The way that conversation normally goes is trying to coax enough funds out of them to replace the server and maybe a critical workstation or two. With Windows MultiPoint 2011 Premium – we now have some real options to help these businesses refresh in a less expensive but very impactful way. We still need to get a new server to do the work – but rather than also have the battle over replacing workstations – we can extend their life with MultiPoint. They become end terminals that don’t need to be upgraded from XP to Win 7. That happens as a MultiPoint client.
But wait, there’s more. The 2011 version of Windows MultiPoint Server has support for thin clients. Here is where I think the big win for Small Business can occur. If you have 12 XP workstations, you can simply obtain 1 copy of MultiPoint Premium and now each of those XP workstations have another 5 years of life but yet, they get a full Windows 7 experience when used as a MultiPoint workstation over the network. And when they finally begin to die – you can replace them with thin client devices rather than buying a new PC. It all runs over the current Ethernet network you have in place. And the real deal – it runs in a virtual session on a Windows server too.
We have been testing Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 in one of our education clients for the past few months. Our engineer has four virtual servers running WMS 2011 and serving thin clients and older desktops and notebooks alike. It has great management features for the teacher or business owner – the ability to shadow users – block activity – really keep track of productivity on the network.
It is essentially a turnkey TS server on steroids. Just show the business owner the console where you can get a thumbnail of each individual workstation. Business owners will love that they can now watch their employees desktops for use of Facebook or selling something on EBay, or other non-productive time wasting tasks on work time.
You owe it to your customers to take a serious look at Windows MultiPoint Server 2011. Combined with the new SBS product line – this will be a killer opportunity for us in the SMB space to refresh our clients to a level of productivity where they can use all the current technology without having to battle with them to buy all new hardware. It is a win for all of us in the mix. Check it out, and let me know what creative ways you come up with to deliver this technology to the marketplace!
Here are some resources for those of you interested in more:
1. The main website just went live today with WMS 2011 content. http://www.microsoft.com/multipoint
2. WMS 2011 Premium Eval is on the download center. This is a 180 day eval. It can convert to full product by entering a key. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=3188a587-3542-4dda-99b3-551cdabe581f
3. WMS 2011 Premium full product is also on technet for technet subscribers. https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/securedownloads/default.aspx?PV=42%3a433%3a---%3aen%3ax64
4. And it’s also on MSDN for MSDN subscribers. https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/securedownloads/default.aspx?PV=42:433:---:en:x64
Showing posts with label SMB. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SMB. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
WPC Day Two
So a bit of a departure on the topic today as I normally don't write about technology and certainly not products, but this one is really worth discussing. Change is coming to a small business near you - and we need to get ready and prepare for our entry into this brave new world of on premise and cloud services. Microsoft has built a product just for us - so here are some thoughts....
This week marks a transition for SMB partners with the announcement of Microsoft Small Business Server "Aurora." Aurora is targeting companies on the smaller end of SMB, while the regular Small Business Server product will grow beyond the limitation of 25 users. Aurora does not come with Exchange Server and SharePoint but serves as a basic domain controller giving small businesses a stable and reliable internal on premise networking environment. Key workloads like e-mail and document management can then be handled through the use of cloud services making the maintenance and administrative overhead that's a feature of the normal Small Business Server product go away. The result is a greatly simplified product that's ideal for organizations with little or no IT expertise.
One thing that cloud doesn't do so well is file serving or backup provisioning so Aurora includes extra features to help in this area: it includes the flexible, replicated storage capabilities and remote backup features found in Windows Home Server, which are fantastic. I personally use these in our home network and love the ability to automatically backup devices with no human interaction beyond setup. This will be the first time that Microsoft takes these features out of the home and puts them in the workplace.
Beta is only a little ways down the road, so be watching for the opportunity to check this product out. It is refreshing to see Microsoft bring a very targeted solution to the SMB channel. SBS is still a fantastic product, but doesn’t give as many options for this rapidly changing technology environment that now includes the cloud, which was but a dream when SBS was designed many years ago. Having a couple options in the under 25 user space gives partners the opportunity to do what we do best – to assess the client needs and then recommend the right solution to achieve the client goals.
There is no doubt that the cloud is going to move into the SMB space – it already has in a lot of instances - and this product gives partners a great entry point into that environment. The discussions among partners have been mixed but mostly positive. The fear is that we are introducing a low cost solution that will mean a lot less revenue to the partner. That is a fact – but the same fact that cloud in general will be bringing to a corner near each of us very soon. So we can’t dwell on that – we have to dwell on the new opportunities it brings along. Aurora will definitely allow us to place servers into clients that today can’t or won’t justify spending the money. It will be very cost effective and allow us to really penetrate a bigger target audience. That is very good.
Aurora will allow us to put our toe in the cloud water – not necessarily cannibalizing our current SBS customer base – but adding more clients to support and allow us to transition our business model and learn how to leverage the cloud for the future. We have to learn this somehow – and Aurora gives us a platform to make that happen. Change is coming to the SMB partner channel. We can either embrace it and leverage a fresh and valuable new product like Aurora or stick our heads in the sand and resist hoping it all passes by as a fad. I remember when some said the Internet would be a fad………haven’t seen them around this year!
This week marks a transition for SMB partners with the announcement of Microsoft Small Business Server "Aurora." Aurora is targeting companies on the smaller end of SMB, while the regular Small Business Server product will grow beyond the limitation of 25 users. Aurora does not come with Exchange Server and SharePoint but serves as a basic domain controller giving small businesses a stable and reliable internal on premise networking environment. Key workloads like e-mail and document management can then be handled through the use of cloud services making the maintenance and administrative overhead that's a feature of the normal Small Business Server product go away. The result is a greatly simplified product that's ideal for organizations with little or no IT expertise.
One thing that cloud doesn't do so well is file serving or backup provisioning so Aurora includes extra features to help in this area: it includes the flexible, replicated storage capabilities and remote backup features found in Windows Home Server, which are fantastic. I personally use these in our home network and love the ability to automatically backup devices with no human interaction beyond setup. This will be the first time that Microsoft takes these features out of the home and puts them in the workplace.
Beta is only a little ways down the road, so be watching for the opportunity to check this product out. It is refreshing to see Microsoft bring a very targeted solution to the SMB channel. SBS is still a fantastic product, but doesn’t give as many options for this rapidly changing technology environment that now includes the cloud, which was but a dream when SBS was designed many years ago. Having a couple options in the under 25 user space gives partners the opportunity to do what we do best – to assess the client needs and then recommend the right solution to achieve the client goals.
There is no doubt that the cloud is going to move into the SMB space – it already has in a lot of instances - and this product gives partners a great entry point into that environment. The discussions among partners have been mixed but mostly positive. The fear is that we are introducing a low cost solution that will mean a lot less revenue to the partner. That is a fact – but the same fact that cloud in general will be bringing to a corner near each of us very soon. So we can’t dwell on that – we have to dwell on the new opportunities it brings along. Aurora will definitely allow us to place servers into clients that today can’t or won’t justify spending the money. It will be very cost effective and allow us to really penetrate a bigger target audience. That is very good.
Aurora will allow us to put our toe in the cloud water – not necessarily cannibalizing our current SBS customer base – but adding more clients to support and allow us to transition our business model and learn how to leverage the cloud for the future. We have to learn this somehow – and Aurora gives us a platform to make that happen. Change is coming to the SMB partner channel. We can either embrace it and leverage a fresh and valuable new product like Aurora or stick our heads in the sand and resist hoping it all passes by as a fad. I remember when some said the Internet would be a fad………haven’t seen them around this year!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Need a Good Book?
Good friend and supporter of the channel - Karl Palachuk - runs a great little book store that actually goes by the name of Great Little Book Publishing Company Inc. He is in California, an entrepreneurial partner who saw a need for quality information for those of us serving the SMB, so decided to do something about it a few years ago and start a little sideline business selling books and other things to support the channel. He is having a year end close out on books and you can check out his resources if you need anything SMB at http://smallbizthoughts.blogspot.com/2008/12/end-of-year-sale.html. More and more I am learning that there is a lot of quality information out there that is really helpful if one just takes the time to read and put it to use. I should have probably tried a little more of that in school.......check it out and see if anything he has fits your needs!
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