Microsoft Kills Essential Business Server
In a surprise announcement today, Nick King (Senior Product Manager - Windows Essential Business Server) revealed that Microsoft is to withdraw Windows Essential Business Server from the product range. In a conference call with Small Business Server MVPs, he stressed that Small Business Server and Home Server products were unaffected and would continue in both current and future versions.
Support for EBS will continue with the normal Microsoft product lifecycle, with 4 remaining years of full support then a further 5 years of extended support.
EBS customers will be given the option to transition out to the ‘a-la-carte’ server products. For customers with Software Assurance, this will be free of charge. Customers without SA may be required to foot the bill for shipping and/or taxes, depending on local rules. The transition pack will likely include licenses for 3 x Server 2008 R2 (4 x for premium SKUs), 2 x Exchange Server 2007 and System Centre Essentials. User CALs will also be able to transition, but Forefront Threat Management Gateway and Forefront Security for Exchange are NOT included. These details had not been finalized and users should refer to Microsoft for final details of this transition offer.
UPDATE: Wayne Small tells it like it is.