[...] 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 [...]