Microsoft small business server software now widely available

Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard Edition is now available through all Microsoft channels, including OEMs and volume licensing. The company announced all-channel availability earlier today. As the name implies, the server software is specifically intended for small businesses. There is a user account cap and prohibition against connecting to network domains (to prevent larger businesses from buying the lower-cost, integrated suite rather than separate products like Exchange and Windows Server).

Microsoft offers three SBS 2011 versions: Essentials, Standard and Premium Add-On. Essentials, which supports up to 25 user accounts, isn't yet available. Standard supports up to 75 user accounts, either people or devices. SBS 2011 Standard Edition retails for $1,096 with five client-access licenses (CALs). Additional five-packs are $361 -- or $1,447 for 20. Premium Add-On CAL packs retail for $457 for five or $1,831 for 20. Microsoft also provides a trial version of the software good for 90 days.

Like other Microsoft server software, SBS 2011 Standard is available through volume licensing and Software Assurance. Downgrade rights to SBS 2008 are available to volume-licensing customers for Standard and Premium Add-On editions but not Essentials.

Small Business Server integrates other Microsoft software around a unified command console. In this version: Exchange Server 2010 SP1, SharePoint Server Foundation 2010, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server Update Services. Premium Add-On Edition essentially replaces Windows Server 2008 Premium. Small businesses receive a second Windows Server 2008 R2 license and another for SQL Server 2008 R2.

However, the SBS 2011 product page ignores the components in a refreshing shift to emphasizing customer benefits over applications or speeds and feeds, such as "your all-in-one network solution."

Curtis Lee, Microsoft's director of Server and Cloud Platform Marketing, touted other benefits in a blog post: "Features like mobile device security that makes sure Security policies are enforced by default in SBS 2011; like the easier migration to the new platform with enhanced migration tools, extensive pre-migration checks, and prescriptive guidance, or like the streamlined Outlook Web Access interface included in Exchange Server 2010, are just few examples that explain how, over the long term, Windows SBS 2011 Standard will help you grow your business."

Dell, Fujitsu and HP are among the OEMs shipping Small Business Server 2011 Standard preinstalled on new hardware.