Windows Server 2008 RC1 Reaches the Masses
 Joe Wilcox
As I blogged on Monday, "It's raining release candidates!" Windows Server 2008 Release Candidate 1 is now publicly available. |
But I've got to wonder about all this release candidate holiday joy—Exchange Server, Windows Server, Windows Vista and Windows XP—that Microsoft elves are preparing for the company's customers. Two weeks ago, Microsoft made Visual Studio 2008 available to developers, too.
What IT manager would pass up the chance to test new Microsoft products during the holidays instead of closing up the year's budget, partying with employees and taking well-deserved vacation time with family or friends? Ho, ho, ho. It's Steve "Developers! Developers! Developers!" Ballmer Claus bearing "Gifts! Gifts! Gifts!"
Microsoft's RC1 holiday cheer is a sign that maybe, just maybe, Windows Server 2008 really will be available for its Feb. 27 launch. Maybe it's more than a sign. After months of noncommittal comments about the release, Microsoft today affirmed that the software would release to manufacturing before the launch date. There still remains the question of how widely available Windows Server 2008 would be on Feb. 27. My bet: Most customers won't get the software until second quarter.
The public RC1 also is signpost for Windows XP Service Pack 3 and Windows Vista SP1 development, too. Windows client and Windows Server development milestones tend to occur in lockstep. IT organizations looking for a busy winter will get one, when Microsoft releases Windows Server 2008, Vista SP1 and XP SP3 around the same time.
My prediction: Microsoft will release too many important updates too closely together, delaying deployments of them all. Windows XP SP3 is the most important of the three products because so many darn businesses use the operating system. If there are brake lights coming on for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 adoption, XP SP3 will be it.
Microsoft's theme for the Feb. 27 launch event, which includes SQL Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008, is "Heroes happen {here}"—and there is a supporting "marketing Web site. These server guys must be unsung heroes, because who ever thinks of the folks manning the rack room as heroes of the enterprise? I fired up David Bowie song "Heroes" while writing this paragraph. "We can be heroes—just for one day," Bowie sings.
Seriously, I love themes with an aspirational quality. IT organizations should aspire to be heroes of the company. If not for the servers, where would any organization be? To support the "Heroes" theme, Microsoft has a share {your store}" Web site, where IT employees can tell their story. The marketing campaign is well structured and remarkably clever, particularly considering the presumably staid target audience.
In a blog post today, Tina Couch, a Windows Server spokesperson, described the forthcoming server products' release as "the company's largest enterprise launch in history," for which Microsoft is investing "a whopping $150 million+ worldwide for outreach and demand generation to IT Pros and developers." Surely that kind of investment can find, or perhaps make, more than a few IT heroes. :)
Link to the Windows Server 2008 RC.
Related Posts:
- Exchange 2007 SP1 Readies for the 'Big Bang', Nov. 29, 2007
- Free Virtualization for SA Customers, Microsoft Watch, Nov. 12, 2007
- Eight Windows Servers for 2008, Microsoft Watch, Nov. 12, 2007
- Microsoft Makes the Hypercall, Microsoft Watch, Oct. 24, 2007
- New Windows Client and Server Beta, Microsoft Watch, Sept. 24, 2007
- Microsoft and Sun Sitting in a Tree ..., Microsoft Watch, Sept. 12, 2007
- Chatty Microsoft Is All BizTalk, Microsoft Watch, Sept. 11, 2007
- Windows Server Delayed, Again, Microsoft Watch, Aug. 29, 2007
- Microsoft Software: Rent Me, Microsoft Watch, July 20, 2007
- Software Assurance Storm Warning, Microsoft Watch, July 9, 2007
- It's Official: An Unofficial Delay, Microsoft Watch, July 10, 2007
- Got IIS 7.0?, Microsoft Watch, June 27, 2007
- Windows Server at the Core, Microsoft Watch, June 5, 2007
- 'Longhorn' Server Comes When?, Microsoft Watch, June 5, 2007
- 'Longhorn' Named Windows Server 2008, Microsoft Watch, May 15, 2007
- Microsoft's Big Bang Is When?, Microsoft Watch, April, 26, 2007
- Viridian Delay Foreshadows What About Windows 'Longhorn' Server?, Microsoft Watch, April 12, 2007
- Windows Server Takes the Lead, Microsoft Watch, Nov. 16, 2006
Create, Communicate, Collaborate with IT Professionals at Ziff Davis Enterprise IT Link.
Comments (6)
Windows Vista SP1 RC is also released. Get more details here
Posted by Chakkaradeep | December 5, 2007 2:26 PM
Data center managers in no rush to adopt Microsoft Windows Server 2008
http://searchdatacenter.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid80_gci1284186,00.html
"Most large enterprises will hold off on Microsoft's forthcoming Windows Server 2008 operating system, which is due out early next year, suggests a poll of data center managers attending the Gartner Data Center Conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Nov. 28.
Gartner Inc. analyst John Enck polled audience members on their W2K8 deployment plans: 73% said they were either evaluating or had no current plans to deploy Windows Server 2008, 19% said they plan to introduce it on new servers, while 8% said they were planning an overall "forklift" upgrade. That's consistent with Enck's thinking about Microsoft Windows Server 2008, "If you're on Windows Server 2003, eh, take your time." he said.
Posted by Marco | December 5, 2007 2:31 PM
Research indicates Windows Server 2008 could flop
Research indicates that Windows Server 2008 could be just as big a flop in the enterprise as Windows Vista. In a survey of 687 IT professionals conducted by Network World, half of them said that they have no plans whatsoever to upgrade to Windows Server 2008 at any time after it launches in February.
This compares to 13 percent that said they would upgrade in the first 12 months after its release; 9 percent that plan to upgrade 13 - 24 months after release: a mere 8% that say they'll roll out Windows Server 2008 after they finish rolling out Vista; and 19% that say they have just begun to think about their plans.
Respondents biggest fear about Windows Server 2008 is that it will break their existing apps. 68% named that as a concern. 65% also fear how expensive an upgrade will be, naming licensing/pricing issues as a concern. Security is an area of uncertainty for 43% and 34% said they felt that Windows Server 2008 offers no compelling new technology. (Note: multiple answers allowed.)
Such judgments about Windows Server 2008 don't come from hearsay. IT professional have had ample time to grab a beta version of Windows Server 2008 and give it a ride in the test lab. As for cost, IT professionals know details about that, too. Earlier this month, too, Microsoft announced pricing for Windows Server 2008 (leaving one to wonder what will be left to announce when the product is formally "launched" in February).
workworld.com/community/node/22480
Posted by Marco | December 5, 2007 2:35 PM
Research indicates Windows Server 2008 could flop
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/22480
Quote:
"Research indicates that Windows Server 2008 could be just as big a flop in the enterprise as Windows Vista. In a survey of 687 IT professionals conducted by Network World, half of them said that they have no plans whatsoever to upgrade to Windows Server 2008 at any time after it launches in February".
"This compares to 13 percent that said they would upgrade in the first 12 months after its release; 9 percent that plan to upgrade 13 - 24 months after release: a mere 8% that say they'll roll out Windows Server 2008 after they finish rolling out Vista; and 19% that say they have just begun to think about their plans".
"Respondents biggest fear about Windows Server 2008 is that it will break their existing apps. 68% named that as a concern. 65% also fear how expensive an upgrade will be, naming licensing/pricing issues as a concern. Security is an area of uncertainty for 43% and 34% said they felt that Windows Server 2008 offers no compelling new technology. (Note: multiple answers allowed.)"
"Such judgments about Windows Server 2008 don't come from hearsay. IT professional have had ample time to grab a beta version of Windows Server 2008 and give it a ride in the test lab. As for cost, IT professionals know details about that, too. Earlier this month, too, Microsoft announced pricing for Windows Server 2008 (leaving one to wonder what will be left to announce when the product is formally "launched" in February).
workworld.com/community/node/22480"
Posted by Marco | December 5, 2007 2:37 PM
Asus says it'll ship 3.8 million Eee PCs next year
http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/04/asus-says-itll-ship-3-8-million-eee-pcs-next-year/
Quote: "at least some of those 3.8 million laptops will be shipping with Windows -- specifically, a stripped-down version of XP that's been designed for "emerging markets." Stripped-down or not, however, those'll apparently still demand a $30 to $60 premium over the base, non-Windows model."
Posted by chips | December 5, 2007 6:42 PM
Joe titled this article: "Windows Server 2008 RC1 Reaches the Masses"
And that title is defective. First of all, this server edition will never reach the masses, as its intended for businesses that can afford it, mostly using software assurance contract. Even the Vista Home Server that came out will be too expensive for home use. So that is just the start of another bad article, that gets very little right, and trys to read like a Micro$oft fan club page.
Joe, where is the former Joe Willcox that used to report without fear of Microsoft advertising bucks? Get us real articles, real insite, with BALANCE. I see none anymore in your work, sadly, as you were worth reading when you did balance out your articles, without being a cheerleader for MS.
It sure would be nice to see the old "Joe," the logical one, with the reasoning incite.
Posted by chips | December 5, 2007 7:46 PM