Virtualization Nation

We got a few comments on the blog post itself -- which are always welcome and nice to see -- but, to our memory, the number of e-mails that rolled into your editor's inbox ended up being somewhere between zero and two. Of course, that was in 2007, eons ago, before RCP the magazine's sister publication, Virtualization Review, hit the stands for the first time.

So, now that you've had the chance to study up a bit, we're asking you again -- please send us your thoughts on virtualization. We're dedicating this whole issue of RCPU to the technology, mainly because it seems as though there's a lot of virtualization news this week. If you'll be so kind as to shoot us an e-mail or two, we'll run your thoughts some time next week. (See, there's always a cliffhanger -- that's what keeps you coming back, right?)

Anyway, enjoy this week's virtualization news, study up on VR and get back to us at, as always, [email protected]. In the meantime, check out one blogger's warnings about what virtualization can't do.

Posted by Lee Pender on 05/21/2008 at 1:22 PM0 comments

AMD Machines Blocked from XP SP3

Maybe Microsoft has been reading some of our reader nightmare tales of SP3. Or maybe not. In any case, we're still getting them and we'll try to run some more this week. If you have any to add, add them at [email protected].

Posted by Lee Pender on 05/20/2008 at 1:22 PM0 comments

Yahoo Thing Not Over Yet

Posted by Lee Pender on 05/20/2008 at 1:22 PM0 comments

Microsoft Shares the SharePoint Wealth

Software Assurance subscribers can now take advantage of what Redmond is calling SharePoint Deployment Planning Services, a program that helps them deploy the popular SharePoint enterprise portal. SharePoint Deployment Planning Services is a little like a program that the Office team offers, apparently -- but, most importantly for the channel, it'll be partners who will be taking care of the bulk of the SharePoint assistance for customers.

Some of you know this by now, of course, as a pilot program has been underway for a short while. For those who don't, now is the time to look at becoming part of SDPS, as we have a feeling that it's going to be something customers will want...well, right now, actually.

We'd like to hear your SharePoint success stories from both the partner and customer perspectives. Send them to [email protected].

Posted by Lee Pender on 05/20/2008 at 1:22 PM0 comments

Microsoft Adds Partner Program Competencies

Posted by Lee Pender on 05/15/2008 at 1:22 PM0 comments

Interactive Intelligence Wants To Feel Your Pain

Interactive Intelligence has some useful stuff out, including an IP communications software platform that combines a bunch of capabilities normally addressed with separate boxes (think PBX, ACD, IVR, WFM and some other acronyms we're not totally sure we understand) into one software-based platform running on a single server. Two of the products based on that platform are now integrated with Microsoft's Office Communications Server.

What really struck us, though, was the news this week that Interactive Intelligence is developing a Customer Feedback Management product that can gauge call-center customers' emotions in real time, so that call-center employees can react accordingly.

OK, so some emotions, such as anger and rage, probably don't need much measurement. Still, this idea seems incredibly useful and actually sort of fun. It kind of reminds us of the "Simpsons" episode where Springfield Elementary has a science fair and Martin Prince creates a "surprise detector" to measure people's level of, well, surprise. Anyway, just about anything that reminds us of the "Simpsons" gets a "thumbs up" at RCPU.

Posted by Lee Pender on 05/15/2008 at 1:22 PM0 comments

Springtime Reader Feedback

Anyway, with flowers popping and allergies in full boom, we're going to let some of our reader e-mails blossom at RCPU. It's been a while since we've run reader feedback, so, like the grass and buds emerging from the blanket of winter, get ready for some e-mails that have waited a while to see the light of day. (Well, one, anyway -- the others are actually pretty recent. But we're running with a metaphor here.)

We start with Andy, who wrote to us back in April about Microsoft's somewhat disappointing earnings:

"The struggle that Microsoft is facing is a problem of saturation. In the early stages of computer technology (like anything new), there is rapid expansion of the user base. But, at some point, that expansion slows. It's hard for businesses to justify more computers, or for most consumers to justify 'new software,' when they aren't using much of what they already have. And until software is able to significantly reduce the amount of effort people expend on chores, or can bring more 'fun' into their lives, the trend is going to be a gradual decrease in growth, followed by an actual decrease in sales (my guess -- five to 10 years of declining growth, followed by five to 10 years of actual decline).

"Microsoft, and many of its competitors, will keep searching for that service that brings annual revenue, but it is going to be a real challenge. I'd like to see the advance of robotics -- actually reducing the chores people are stuck with. But with as little progress as we've seen in consumer robotics (the Roomba is all that comes to mind) over the past 30 years, I am not optimistic. Instead, Microsoft will continue to focus on getting the consumer entertainment dollars (games, video and music services) and expanding its existing efforts in business automation (unified communications should be a good area). I don't see Microsoft having an advantage over other entertainment sources (too much big-company mentality), so I hope it gets its act together and focuses on business automation again.

"Another way of looking at it is the good, old 80/20 rule. Getting the first 80 percent of utility from computers was cheap, quick and easy -- but getting the next 20 percent is going to be very expensive, take a long time and be really hard work. I'm afraid they are still looking for cheap, quick and easy..."

Andy, what you're talking about is what a lot of people have been predicting for Microsoft for a long time: a long, slow, IBM-in-the-'80s-style decline based on shifting models and Microsoft's presumed inability (or unwillingness) to respond to them. We're not convinced that one mildly disappointing earnings report after a solid couple of years of blockbusters is evidence that Microsoft is in real trouble, but we are watching Redmond's new areas of investment very closely.

Unified communications, SaaS and Dynamics seem like three growth areas (among others), at least in the enterprise, where Microsoft can move into some new markets and counterbalance whatever market saturation Windows and Office might suffer in the years to come. We're not ready to predict doom for Microsoft, but we take your points; some of the gravy on the traditional Microsoft gravy train is going a bit sour, and Microsoft is going to have to look for other sources to replace it.

And now, on to more timely territory: the infamous XP Service Pack 3. Before we get to the horror stories, let's address James's concern that we were being too hard on Redmond in our original entry:

"I take issue with you relative to how you really are blaming Microsoft for the issues with XP SP3 (even though you indicate that you are not pointing the finger of blame, but venting). This really is not Microsoft's fault, but HP's and now, it sounds like, Dell's as well. These two vendors created their images incorrectly and with the wrong driver, which Microsoft also informed these two OEMs to not do. Well, they did it anyway. How is this Microsoft's fault? (Your doctor tells you that you have to lose 50 pounds or you are going to have a heart attack. You do not lose the weight and end up having a heart attack, just as your doctor said you would. Guess you'll blame the doctor for you not losing the weight?) I have experienced this issue first-hand (on an HP machine, mind you) and was able to work around the issue and get the machine working again prior to the problem coming to light and in the media as it is now. ALL OTHER UNITS that aren't HP or Dell, SP3 installed correctly for us and are working great."

"So, I am politely asking you, as one computer person to another: Could you please retract your statements about this particular issue being Microsoft's fault and really place the blame where it should be?"

Thanks, James. Allow us at RCPU to clarify here: In all seriousness, we really weren't trying to blame Microsoft for the problems with SP3. Our only point was that regardless of who's at fault (and, we said before, it probably isn't Microsoft), it's frustrating to have to struggle with another service pack that causes problems (after some of the issues with Vista SP1). We're not Microsoft bashers here, as regular readers will attest -- we were just trying to provide a forum in which people can vent some frustrations with SP3, regardless of which vendor (if any) they choose to blame for them. So, really, we didn't intend to bash Microsoft.

With that said, on to some quality venting! Actually, Carl reports kind of a mixed bag so far:

"I've installed SP3 on five computers as of last night. Four were 'upgrades' from SP2. Each was the Pro version and had all post-SP2 updates. One was a clean install. No problems, and I've got Office 2007, full Acrobat and about 50 other apps installed on two of those boxes. No problems at all. One machine is a Dell E521 with AMD-64 dual-core, 4 gigs of RAM, 256MB PCI-Express video, and the other is a Dell laptop with AMD-32 single-core, 1.5 gigs of RAM, and internal video, Ethernet, wireless, etc. Everything, including each of the apps, still works.

"In fact, I integrated SP3 into an install CD, and reformatted/reinstalled clean a second time using that. Still no issues. No reboots other than the usual.

"I am not using Symantec. Two have McAfee and the others are using ZoneAlarm with its included anti-virus. On all the problem machines, who knows what is running, and how the software was installed? Notice that both of my primary test boxes are AMD's. Maybe Intel's the problem?"

Maybe, Carl, but as you said, it could be any combination of things. Lloyd, on the other hand, hasn't been quite as lucky:

"I loaded this on my main machine that runs XP Pro and it killed QuickBooks 2008. When you click on the QB icon it looks like it is starting, and then the indication that it's loading just disappears. On my workstation, it killed the operating system AND a 500 gig drive so bad I could not recover 300 gigs of data. I had to reinstall the operating system and format the 500 gig drive...Don't they check these service patches before they inflict them on end users?"

Whew, Lloyd, now that is a nightmare. We're sorry that you had to live through it, but we appreciate you telling us about it.

Have any more horror stories? Or any other comments of any kind? Send them to [email protected].

Posted by Lee Pender on 05/15/2008 at 1:22 PM0 comments

HP Rounds Up EDS

First of all, from a Microsoft perspective, we're guessing that this means that HP is on board with recommending Dynamics CRM; after all, EDS said at Convergence that it was.

Beyond that, HP and Microsoft are longtime allies; Microsoft and IBM, not so much. So maybe Microsoft partners will see some sort of trickle-down from an HP-EDS leviathan. That is, of course, if HP can manage to actually swallow and integrate EDS, which remains, as always, to be seen.

Posted by Lee Pender on 05/14/2008 at 1:22 PM0 comments

SBS 2008 Pricing: More Money, More Servers

Read past the headline, though, and you'll find -- as, to be fair, most reporters and bloggers did -- that there's a lot more to Microsoft's SBS 2008 pricing scheme than just a price hike. A lot more. In fact, in some cases, it might not even involve a price hike at all.

SBS 2008 pricing will be very complicated, with all sorts of possible permutations and licensing combinations, all of which will probably lead to a lot of extra work for partners. But we'll get to that in a minute.

First, the numbers. A Microsoft press release this week revealed the list prices for SBS 2008 and its new mid-market cousin, Windows Essential Business Server, both due by the end of this year. Quoth the press release:

"Windows Essential Server Solutions pricing is as follows:

• Windows Small Business Server 2008 Standard Edition software, including five CALs, $1,089 (U.S.); additional CALs $77 each (U.S.)
• Windows Small Business Server 2008 Premium Edition software, including five CALs, $1,899 (U.S.); additional CALs $189 each (U.S.)
• Windows Essential Business Server 2008 Standard Edition software, including five CALs, $5,472 (U.S.); additional CALs $81 each (U.S.)
• Windows Essential Business Server 2008 Premium Edition software, including five CALs, $7,163 (U.S.); additional CALs $195 each (U.S.)"

So, there you go; those are the numbers. But there's a lot more to the new pricing scheme than just prices. Microsoft has built new flexibility into how customers can purchase client access licenses, or CALs. Once again, because it explains it as well as we could, we go to the Microsoft press release:

"Examples of licensing improvements over the current Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 product include these:

• Customers will be able to purchase single client access licenses (CALs), so they will pay only for the exact number of employees using the product.
• Customers can cost-effectively purchase a mix of Standard or Premium CALs, as appropriate to the technologies that individual employees are using.
• CALs now apply to other copies of Windows Server, SQL Server or Exchange Server on the network, eliminating the need to purchase additional CALs."

All of those CAL policies are new: Customers currently have to buy five CALs at a time, and users of SBS Premium have to buy Premium CALs. So, the price hike isn't as stark as it might seem at first. It's more of a price shift, really.

"There are some things we've done to the product that have been reflected in the pricing -- more cost on server software and less on CALs," said Joel Sider, senior product manager in the Windows Server Solutions Group at Microsoft. Sider noted that customers asked to have the cost of SBS shifted away from licenses and to the software itself.

On top of that, SBS 2008 Premium will be a major upgrade from its predecessor. The new Premium edition will include two servers, not just one, and will also include SQL Server 2008.

"On the Premium side of SBS, we've made a lot of changes," Sider told RCPU in a phone chat this week. "It's a big addition to premium, and the price reflects that."

IDC analysts Al Gillen and Raymond Boggs summed up the changes pretty well in a report released this week:

"As is often the case in product evolutions, the feature changes and the related pricing changes imply higher costs for end customers. Yet further analysis reveals cases, particularly for the standard edition, where customers will find their costs are actually lower, or at worst, relatively unchanged from previous price points they have paid. With the two-server format of the premium edition, the comparison leads to generally higher prices, but with the upside of improved functionality for customers."

More money, more server(s) -- and more functionality. That's the main theme here, and it seems entirely sensible. But what does it mean for partners? In a chat with RCPU this week, Boggs, vice president of small and medium business and home office research at IDC, said that the smallest customers might shy away from SBS.

"For the pure, basic customer just kind of starting out, it's not going to be very attractive," Boggs said. "For the folks that are more advanced, it's going to be more interesting. It is pretty up-market. It's not the truly simple and affordable solution that you as a five-person company with one server are going to be thinking about. By the same token, we are still talking list prices. There may be some wiggle room for partners."

And Microsoft is also building in opportunities for partners to up-sell customers to the Premium edition. Expensive though it might be, SBS 2008 Premium packs a lot of functionality, and Boggs noted that the flexible new CAL policies can take some of the bite out of licensing costs for customers.

"If I move from the old Premium to the new Premium, suddenly I'm getting two servers," Boggs said. "I can extend Basic [CALs] to 80 percent [of users]. There's something of a grow lamp encouraging you to move in that direction."

But Boggs also noted that the pricing schemes are very complicated -- he compared them to a Rubik's Cube, the kind of '80s reference we just eat up here at RCPU -- and that partners are going to have to do a lot of explaining to customers when it comes to pricing and licensing. A lot more, possibly, than they've done in the past: "It means that you as the channel partners are going to be obligated to have a better understanding of the customer's business," Boggs said.

And that's what every partner is trying to achieve, anyway...right?

What's your take on Microsoft's SBS 2008 pricing scheme? Sound off at [email protected].

Posted by Lee Pender on 05/14/2008 at 1:22 PM0 comments

IDC: IT Spending To Slow Throughout the Year

Posted by Lee Pender on 05/14/2008 at 1:22 PM0 comments

Microsoft To Appeal EU Fines

Posted by Lee Pender on 05/13/2008 at 1:22 PM0 comments

Raikes To Head Gates Foundation

Posted by Lee Pender on 05/13/2008 at 1:22 PM0 comments