Kevin Beares is a man to listen too. I have met Kevin in Redmond. I have had many debates and long discussions with him. If I worked for Microsoft, he is someone I would hope to call boss, mentor, partner and friend.
Kevin is one of the team at Microsoft I had in mind when I wrote the following post http://blogs.msmvps.com/mickyj/blog/2012/06/30/a-new-found-love-for-microsoft-small-business-server/
For a while now we have heard the voice that is proclaiming SBS is dead. We have listened to the press releases and what Microsoft wants us to hear. That is all the marketing propaganda and behind it are some very real reasons why SBS will be leaving us.
Are you curious? what reasons could there possibly be and where are we headed ? Check out these clarifications from Harry Brelsford’s post at SMBnation, speaking with Kevin Beares.
http://smbnation.com/index.php/news/news/entry/sbs-product-clarifications
We are addressing the concerns and answering the top questions,” Beares shared. “Windows Server 2012 Essentials is based on years of feedback from our MVPs, our partners, and our user groups. While it is true we removed the integrated installation of Microsoft Exchange Server, it doesn’t mean we removed the integration for an on-premises email solution. With Essentials 2012, we actually made it possible to have three different mail options: on-premises Exchange Server, Hosted Exchange, or Office 365. It is the next version of SBS 2011 Essentials, and it includes many new capabilities and enhancements over the previous release.
