Where can I find out more?
Windows Essential Business Server is a new product and information is just becoming available. Many people have heard about it from a friend, a recent conference, or an article in the press, and ask me where to go to read up more about it. Over the last couple months as we have gone public with the product, a lot of Microsoft ‘official’ sources have popped onto the web, as well as a number of press, blogs and other discussions from other sources.
Over time, this blog will be one of the great sources, but as we’re just getting started, I thought I’d take a minute to list out some of your other options to learn more today.
Official Microsoft sites
· There is of course an official EBS site on Microsoft.com that has a great, but brief overview of the product, it’s versions.
· For press, there is also official press overviews of EBS and a “virtual press room” for the Windows Essential Server Solutions family of products (including EBS and Small Business Server)
· For Partners who plan to sell and install EBS, there is an EBS section on the MS partner site (note: you need to be a MS partner to get into this page/site)
What’s missing is a Microsoft Technnet techcenter site. That will come as the product approaches release and availability. For now, there are lots of pages popping up there talking about EBS across various blogs and articles.
Press Articles
There are many, many articles out there, but I’ll list a few that provide a good information or an interesting perspective on the product.
· Articles about Essential Business Server
o CRN, eWeek and TechTarget
· Articles about the Windows Essential Server Solutions product family
o InfoWorld, Echannel Line, Tech Republic
Blogs
For people who prefer to find information in the more casual, and personal form of Blogs, there are many to choose from other than this blog from the team designing the product.
· Microsoft Employees and official blogs
o Microsoft Windows Server Solutions community blog – Kevin Beares
o The Small Business Server blog
o Kent Compton’s blog (an EBS marketing & customer insider)
· VAPs & MVPs blogging their experience running the product
o Olliver Sommer (Trinity computing) (several of our other people running the beta bits live right now also write in here)
· Other Press and industry bloggers
o Microsoft Watch – Joe Wilcox
Live and in person
In addition to the growing information available on the web, the Essential Business Server team will be at a number of conferences and industry events doing live talks and demoing the bits running live
· Microsoft Events
o We have recently been at IT Forum Spain (Nov 07) and Windows Server Launch (Feb 08) and there is good content on the web if you missed those events
§ IT Forum Essential Business Server video interview of Eric Watson
§ IT Forum Essential Buiness Server video interview of Steven VanRokel
o Upcoming events include: Convergence (March 13-17), Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (July)
§ Convergence 2008 – Orlando (multiple WEBS sessions & live demos)
§ Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2008 - Houston
Come to one of these events and talk to myself or one of our team members in person.
Well, that’s a pretty good list – and I tried to keep is short J There is starting to be a lot of people excited about the product and its upcoming availability. And if that doesn’t satisfy your curiosity about the inner workings of the product, stay tuned and we’ll discuss it here!
- Eric Watson
EBS Group Program Manager