Microsoft is extending an offer giving free support to small businesses that upgrade to Vista. The deal will now run to the end of the year, with support offered until 31 January.
The offer, marketed as Small Business Assurance, was originally set to expire at the end of September. It’s not clear why Microsoft is extending the deal; in the FAQ section on its website about the offer, it appears to have simply changed the date in the question about why there’s a time limit in the first place. The answer still doesn’t get particularly specific:
Windows Vista Small Business Assurance is designed to help our small business customers make the transition to Windows Vista today. As Windows XP availability begins to wind down, we want small businesses to know we’re behind them to provide special support during this transition period.
The scope of the deal remains unchanged: it’s still limited to US companies with a maximum of 25 PCs or 50 employees, and is still telephone support only.
Most significantly, the deal still only applies to the Business and Ultimate editions of Vista. As we reported last week, while three-quarters of home users have opted for the Premium edition, a surprising 57% of ‘low-end business PCs’ are now running the Home Basic edition.
From Microsoft’s perspective, these aren’t buyers who need to be talked into buying Vista; instead the key to increased revenue is making sure they opt for the more expensive flavors. Keeping the support deal exclusive to the upscale editions could theoretically sway the smallest of businesses.
The problem with this logic is that there’s a good chance businesses running Home Basic do so because they want to keep both hardware and software costs down, so simply don’t have the computing power to reap any benefits from the small business or Ultimate editions. And in any case, there’s still the risk that making free support seem such an important bonus simply draws attention to the problems buyers perceive they might get in running Vista.
Source:vista.blorge.com/2008/10/13/small-business-vista-support-deal-extended/
Showing posts with label Small business support. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Small business support. Show all posts
Monday, October 13, 2008
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2: Powering Small Businesses
Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 (SBS 2003 R2) is an update release to the award-winning SBS 2003 product, providing new features to address the growing needs of small businesses.
Keep Your Business Up and Running: SBS 2003 R2 helps secure your network, keep it up and running, and protect your business information, allowing you to spend more time focusing on your business and less time and money on technology issues.
Do More with Less: SBS 2003 R2 offers the technology and tools to help you run your business more efficiently, improve employee productivity, and reduce costs.
Connect with Customers: SBS 2003 R2 helps you communicate in new ways and take better care of your customers by providing tools that help you stay more connected, look and interact more professionally, and manage your customer relationships more effectively.
Get the "Green Check" of Software Health with SBS 2003 R2
SBS 2003 R2 delivers all the current product benefits plus new features, including:
The "green check" of software health indicates that your computers running Microsoft software are up to date or the daily report details actions necessary for attaining "green check" status.
Simplified update management to keep your PCs and servers current with the latest updates, enhancing the security of your network, so you can have peace of mind.
Improved e-mail productivity: increased mailbox limits from 16 gigabytes (GB) to 75 GB, so you can get more from your e-mail communications.
Reduced costs and increased flexibility through expanded client access license (CAL) rights: SBS 2003 R2 entitles you to access additional servers in your network (Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Workgroup, Microsoft Windows Server), saving you money and offering you more flexibility in growth.
How Can You Get SBS 2003 R2?
SBS 2003 R2 is available through original equipment manufacturers (OEM), system builders, resellers and select retailers. Microsoft Partners, especially Microsoft Small Business Specialists, are trained to help.
For Existing Customers
Customers with SBS 2003 can take advantage of the following programs:
SBS customers with Software Assurance are able to obtain SBS 2003 R2 without purchasing a new server license1 for a nominal shipping and handling fee.
SBS customers without Software Assurance are able to purchase a version upgrade SKU via retail, which will enable them to cost-effectively upgrade from any previous version of SBS (4.0, 4.5, 2000, 2003) to SBS 2003 R2. Learn more.
Source:microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/sbs/r2/default.mspx
- Benefits of SBS 2003 R2
- Get the "Green Check" of Software Health with SBS 2003 R2
- How Can You Get SBS 2003 R2?
- Learn More
Keep Your Business Up and Running: SBS 2003 R2 helps secure your network, keep it up and running, and protect your business information, allowing you to spend more time focusing on your business and less time and money on technology issues.
Do More with Less: SBS 2003 R2 offers the technology and tools to help you run your business more efficiently, improve employee productivity, and reduce costs.
Connect with Customers: SBS 2003 R2 helps you communicate in new ways and take better care of your customers by providing tools that help you stay more connected, look and interact more professionally, and manage your customer relationships more effectively.
Get the "Green Check" of Software Health with SBS 2003 R2
SBS 2003 R2 delivers all the current product benefits plus new features, including:
The "green check" of software health indicates that your computers running Microsoft software are up to date or the daily report details actions necessary for attaining "green check" status.
Simplified update management to keep your PCs and servers current with the latest updates, enhancing the security of your network, so you can have peace of mind.
Improved e-mail productivity: increased mailbox limits from 16 gigabytes (GB) to 75 GB, so you can get more from your e-mail communications.
Reduced costs and increased flexibility through expanded client access license (CAL) rights: SBS 2003 R2 entitles you to access additional servers in your network (Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Workgroup, Microsoft Windows Server), saving you money and offering you more flexibility in growth.
How Can You Get SBS 2003 R2?
SBS 2003 R2 is available through original equipment manufacturers (OEM), system builders, resellers and select retailers. Microsoft Partners, especially Microsoft Small Business Specialists, are trained to help.
For Existing Customers
Customers with SBS 2003 can take advantage of the following programs:
SBS customers with Software Assurance are able to obtain SBS 2003 R2 without purchasing a new server license1 for a nominal shipping and handling fee.
SBS customers without Software Assurance are able to purchase a version upgrade SKU via retail, which will enable them to cost-effectively upgrade from any previous version of SBS (4.0, 4.5, 2000, 2003) to SBS 2003 R2. Learn more.
Source:microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/sbs/r2/default.mspx
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Windows Small Business Server
Announced back in February, previewed and priced in May, the business products built on Windows Server 2008 from the Windows Essential Server Solutions product line (all-in-one IT solutions designed for small and midsize businesses) now have a release date. Windows Small Business Server 2008 (for up to 75 PCs) and Windows Essential Business Server 2008 (for up to 300 PCs) will be released on November 12, 2008, Steven VanRoekel, senior director of the Windows Server Solutions group at Microsoft, said today at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference.
The announcement comes as the Release Candidate 1 milestone for both products is almost finished. Those interested in prerelease versions of Small Business Server 2008 and Essential Business Server 2008 can still sign up to download and evaluate them.
VanRoekel also took the time to reveal that "AMD, Dell, HP, IBM, and Intel are all demonstrating systems at the Worldwide Partner Conference this week. Fujitsu Siemens Computers and Wortmann AG in Europe also plan to deliver products built on both of the solutions. HP, IBM and Intel are integrating their hardware management software with Essential Business Server."
Software development kits and other resources will be available to software vendors via sources like MSDN, and of course products and software currently compatible with Server 2008 should work just fine with Windows SBS 2008 and Windows ESB 2008. In the next year, Microsoft will be training more than 25,000 partners through events and online tools.
Microsoft is putting a lot on the line with the launch of these two products, and this doesn't come as a big surprise if you remember how big the small and midsize business market is and how steadily it is growing. See the interview with VanRoekel below for more insight on Microsoft's plan to move into this niche.
Source: arstechnica.com/journals
Monday, June 2, 2008
It Support Services - Windows, Server, Computer
This page outlines the different types of Support Service Plans and Subscription Support that iyogi offers for our different technical support services and packages.
Keep your computer systems current and protected from viruses by automating distribution of software updates to all your networked assets. You’ll never have to rely on end users to perform critical IT tasks. Maintain licensing compliance with high standards and respond quickly to audit requirements, too. Track all technological changes from one integrated console.
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