It’s the end of the road for SBS and Microsoft introduces a much better cloud-enabled server platform solution and a more flexible product – Windows Small Business Server Essentials has been renamed Windows Server 2012 Essentials. SBS will disappear in a year after its milestone but will still be sold until June 2013, Dec 2013, and >5 years depending on the licensing models. Essentials 2012 is part of the Windows Server 2012 family which comes in four different versions – Foundation, Essentials, Standard, and Data Center all have major draw to the cloud. Windows Server Essentials will only support up to 25 Users. If you need more licensing Windows Server 2012 Standard is doable. Also, if you are looking to implement virtualization Essentials 2012 has no virtualization rights.
Don’t be surprised if there will be frustrations among the Small Business Consultants and Consumers when SBS departs, it might be a tough transition for them to move to Essentials 2012.
The main focus here is the email flexibility on the Essentials 2012, Consultants and Customers will have their option whether they wanted their email on-premises, hosted or cloud.
Download Windows Server 2012 Essentials Beta: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=30327
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