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How big is R2 for partners?
Posted: 12:03 am
July 11th, 2006
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IT Business

Bit of clarification on the Schragging that took place today at the Small Business Symposium. Man, what a sad yet ironic way for this great event to end. First off, a panel of senior Microsoft executives was introduced by Andrea Russell to answer quite a few questions. Schrag, in his usual courteous way, asked everyone to stand up if they liked Microsoft software in SMB — nearly everyone did, and some even clapped. But then as everyone sat down he asked them to stand back up in.. well, you can see where this one is going. Long story short, Schrag won the Xbox giveaway after insulting the deck of Sr. Microsoft managers and thanked god for it. Not exaggerating it at all.

Not all bad news, I totally called it, and saw Chris fall to his knees next to me as if he got hit by a bullet. In his defense, he has been craving an Xbox since we went to Best Buy the other day.

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After the event we went to Harry Brelsfords launch of the SMB Magazine. Big thanks to Beatrice Mulzer of SMB Nation for giving us an ad for the SBS Show in there!

But on to the serious topic – as I noted earlier, SBS R2 is eeeeeeverywhere. Yet nobody is talking about it today. Read between the lines here, “The big dog is about to announce something tomorrow” – cheaper, bigger, slimmer, ? In the SBS community this will be a big non-event, I doubt my customers will ever even notice – but for WWPC it seems to be the big news. 

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Part of the Australian and US reception.

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And for the ultimate SBSer koolade drinker in you – green check on the lunch box, green check on the cup of water, green check everywhere.

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As a partner, and as you can witness from the vlog, a Microsoft shareholder I have to show serious concern if this is “the” major announcement at WWPC in the morning. Microsoft’s most insignificant upgrade in its most insignificant server product justifies this kind of marketing expenditure? I’m sorry, but the end of the 2003 Server Wave is coming with the same excitement and shame as the end of Zidane’s career – battered, broken, aged and missing expectations despite a phenomenal quality throughout its lifecycle.

News from Small Business Symposium?

Whats in the works for the micro-Microsoft focus?

Look at Microsoft Office Live around the Office 2007 launch.

Where is SBS going?

Not sure. Partner ridiculed it as “Smallhorn” and the worldwide manager remarked to it as a part of Longhorn wave. When its coming, what it will have….. well, 64bit platform, thats about all we know.

Biggest understatement of the conference…

Cindy Bates: “I’m sure some of you have heard of lessthanfries.com or 86centsaday that Eric Ligman has been working on…” at which point everyone raised their hand “Wow, good job Eric”

Good job indeed.

1 Comment

E-Bitz - SBS MVP the Official Blog of the SBS "Diva" : How big is R2 for customers? |

[...] How big is R2 for customers? … good thing I’m here at home and Vlad is in Boston because I’d elbow him in the side for this crack on his blog ” Microsoft’s most insignificant upgrade in its most insignificant server product justifies this kind of marketing expenditure? ” Most insignificant server product?  Excuse me?  Good thing you are an Exchange MVP because I’d really be mad if you said that and you were an SBS MVP dude…and wasn’t he ragging on me that there was NO funds whatsoever spent at TechEd?  Excuse me.. don’t you as a SMB partner want to see the fact that they are throwing some dollars somewhere…because as you pointed out ..they didn’t in Boston last month.  Hey they saved what they would have spent last month and spent it this month. That “insignificant” server product helped the two of us meet, helped you become a MVP, helps many many businesses the world over to be “significant”.  That insignificant server product has features that other server platforms want to steal.  That insignificant server platform builds a community that is unrivaled in it’s worldwide reach. So maybe for partners that have an existing client base and don’t see a need for expanding their clientele don’t see R2 as a needed release.. and like I’ve said before.. fair enough.. as Nick commented… if you are a good SMB partner you already have WSUS installed more power to you… but here’s the thing… R2 isn’t just about you.. the uber SMB partner.. it’s also about the customer that doesn’t yet have SBS… or the new to SBS consultant.. the one who hasn’t installed WSUS.. and there’s still too many out there that have not installed it. You see there’s a reason for that “Cockroach” Community card logo and shirt.. it was inspired because I’m always amazed that whereever I go and in communities I hang around in.. big server land communities even… that I find someone asking a question about SBS.  And they need the help of a easy set up just as much as our newbie SBSers.  We’re little… we’re everywhere… that’s why there’s a cockroach on those community cards… And there’s a bunch of small businesses that still need SBS… and you haven’t touched them all yet.  My sister was interviewing for a position today and a person came in that worked in an office that technology hadn’t been upgraded since the 1990’s.. so she had no Microsoft Office experience and had been typing up the firm’s invoices BY HAND on the typewriter.  Is it any wonder that the firm was in jeopardy of going under?  That firm did them and her a disservice by not investing in the future of their firm.  In thinking that a typewriter was a proper investment.  It’s that lack of technology investment by small firms that needs to be broken.  And I still see way too many small firms that need technology. I’ve always said that I’ve felt that I represent the customer or owner view of SBS…. and this R2 release drives it home even more… I like the daily reminder of the health of my network… I like the easier approval window that is more Shavlik like and only gives me the patches needed for my firm and not this huge list of unneeded patches….because for me personally the WSUS patching console is confusing… and if it’s confusing to me.. the patchaholic that I am..what’s it like for a normal SBS partner that doesn’t have the time to determine which patches are needed in his clients or not and he hasn’t started a patching process?  The one who hasn’t yet installed WSUS (and there’s a lot of good SBS partners who haven’t). Tomorrow is patch Tuesday.  Just an insignificant day… well… it is if you have a patching process and procedure in place… if not….well….. Published 10-07-2006 09:48 by bradley Filed Under: Rants [...]








 

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