One of the major reasons I chose to become a Microsoft Small Business Specialist was because I really liked and saw the value in Small Business Server 2003. It was relatively easy to install, ran like a clock and the price point was fantastic for a small business. I was sold by it and I sold a lot of it. I could go into any business with more than 3 office employees and make the business case for SBS.  

Then things changed and the new Small Business Server 2008 was released. It has a sexier interface and now runs as 64-bit, but my best buddy has changed and so has our relationship. First came the price point. For my average client who is under 10 employees the price point has doubled. And then came the hardware requirements. No more low-end Dell servers for this guy. I felt a bit betrayed, like my old friend has cool new friends and I was not as welcome any more. I delayed implementing the new version internally even though I had the new hardware sitting there waiting. I sold the 2003 version at its old price for as long as it could.

Now, I am over it. Small Business Server has changed and I need to move on. I still like it but I cannot say we are BFF's anymore. So, what am I doing? I have now started to hang around with SBS's cooler younger brother, Windows Home Server and some of his "in the cloud" buddies. I have built a new product offering that gives small businesses the file storage and backup, email services and collaboration tools they need at an even lower price point.

I still get together with SBS2008 every once in a while. I get annoyed at how demanding he is, "I need more memory, I need more memory" and he really is no better than he was in 2003. But sometimes I need his skills and he delivers.  It is just not like it used to be.

So, things change and life goes on. We lose a friend, we gain a friend and we get the job done.

We go live internally on Small Business Server 2008 this week, made even more bittersweet by the loss of our BlackBerry's. But that is another story...