Small Business Computer Consulting

Microsoft Small Business Server product “Office Live Small Business” was recently reported to be suffering from intermittent email problems according to interviews of users and postings in discussion forums used by more than a million people.

Microsoft confirmed on August 26th that last Friday there was a short email outage that cause some Microsoft Small Business users to permanently lose emails and other important information.

Many business owners use Office Live Small Business to host Web sites and provide email and some were dismayed by the loss of data.  This product used by many that use Microsoft Small Business Server was launched in 2006 and helps users set up their own Web sites, run email and also even run e-commerce stores and Web advertising campaigns.  Some services are free and others require a fee.

The outage is reported to have lasted approximately two hours.  Microsoft has offered to help at least one customer retrieve lost data, but this user reported that the data has not yet been recovered.

This is at least the second outage for Microsoft with its “Live” services, the last one being a much larger outage in February that affected multiple services.

For more information about this Microsoft Small Business Server story, visit the attached link.

Added By:  Computer Consulting Kit

First reported in January, 2008, a bug in the Microsoft Small Business Server home-based product Windows Home Server continues to need patching.  Initially, this particular version had not been mentioned in the reports by Microsoft, who thought that only Microsoft Small Business Server was affected, but soon it became apparent that this product was also at risk.  

While the problems have been patched, Microsoft continues to look at design issues that created this problem in the first place as it prepares to create new products.  According to the notice, supported editions of Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 and Windows Home Server contained the same code as Windows Server 2003, which was the origin of the initial issue with the product.  This code combined with some default settings for Internet Group Management Protocol that are enabled unless settings are changed manually meant the product experienced some problems.  

Those that were taking advantage of the vulnerability could send malicious data packets to Microsoft Small Business Server users who would then be infected with malware or have their systems controlled by an outside user.  

Windows Home Server owners received the patch via update mechanism in January, but Microsoft continues to advise new and old users – even 7 months later – to make sure they are checking their Microsoft Small Business Server regularly for updates.

Added By:  Computer Consulting Kit

IBM recently announced the release of new data protection solutions designed to help users of Microsoft Small Business Server and other major products for small businesses.  This protection will help customers handle data recovery better while still meeting legal requirements and regulations.  

IBM has created the new Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack software that will offer customers better efficiency with their businesses and more comprehensive data recovery.  They will be able to use this product with Microsoft Small Business Server and other popular solutions and products.  Of course, this product can also be used by enterprise companies and others with more sophisticated or extensive data protection needs.  

Solution providers have noted increased amounts of data as well as more compliance requirements by authorities and thus have created this new suite of products to respond to this need.  The new suite offers steady data protection and almost instant recovery of applications, databases and important file servers in case of emergency.

For more information on this Microsoft Small Business Server story from IBM and a list of the features of the new Tivoli IBM data protection products, visit the attached link.

Added By:  Computer Consulting Kit

On July 17th, Microsoft announced, in the year of launches of new Microsoft Small Business Server packages and others that it had reached a revenue of $60.42 billion, an 18% growth over the previous year.  

Kevin Turner, COO of Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington in the U.S. stated that the accomplishment of such an impressive revenue increase is the result of new technology solutions as well as great work done by partners and global sales and marketing teams.

2008 saw new releases of Microsoft’s major server products, including Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008.  Improvements were made on Microsoft Small Business Server and partner programs instilled that welcomed many new small business partners into the fold.

For more information on this Microsoft Small Business Server and Microsoft products and revenue story, visit the attached link.

Blogged By:  Computer Consulting Kit

Consultants that work with Microsoft Small Business Server have recently been talking about problems their clients have been having with updates from a Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) server.  While this is not related to a security issue, Microsoft has still announced a security advisory because of the inability of some users to update important security features.

Microsoft employees and Microsoft Small Business Server experts state that computers running Microsoft Office 2003 might not be able to get updates from servers that are using WSUS 3.0 or WSUS 3.0 SP1.  Other affected programs and applications besides Microsoft Small Business Server include System Center Essentials and System Center Configuration Manager 2007.   

While a solution to this problem has not yet been released, Microsoft promises to tell those working with Small Business Server and other affected applications as part of Update Services 3.0 or Microsoft Windows Server Update Services 3.0 Service Pack 1.

Microsoft issued a manual workaround that can be found by clicking this Microsoft Small Business Server link.

Added By:  Computer Consulting Kit

A lot of computer consultants and business users have been talking about Server Core, one of the most discussed parts of the new Microsoft Small Business Server 2008.  Basically, it’s a version of Microsoft Small Business server, minus the Graphical User Interface; there is no taskbar, start menu, desktop, etc., though there are some tools that still stand.

As Microsoft instructor Glen Weadock reports, a lot of people in his classes and other industry professionals have commented about how Microsoft is not offering deals on Server Core, despite its lack of features.  It is being marketed as the same price as all other Microsoft Small Business Server packages.  While larger organizations do not seem to mind the issue, small businesses that have to pay for individual licenses have wondered why a seemingly “lesser” product would be the same price as the fully-stocked product.

Weadock offers his own opinion and invites others to comment, so for more information on this Microsoft Small Business Server story or to weigh in, visit the attached link.

Blogged By:  Computer Consulting Kit

Microsoft Small Business Server will be rolling through three Midwestern U.S. cities during the summer of 2008 in the "Microsoft Across America" program hosted by Catalyst Technology Group.  These events will bring Microsoft’s newest version of Microsoft Small Business Server (Windows Server 2008) as well as Windows Vista to Catalyst customers through product demonstrations.  Also represented in these demos will be Office 2007, SharePoint Server 2007 and Small Business Server 2003.

This travelling Microsoft Small Business Server event will be in Chicago, Illinois, Evansville, Indiana and Indianapolis, Indiana throughout July.  For information on this program and Microsoft Small Business Server, visit the attached link.

Added By:  Computer Consulting Kit

One of the benefits of the Computer Consulting Kit is that it provides thoroughly tried and tested tips for IT consultants to improve their businesses.  The strategies offered by the Computer Consulting Kit have been proven time and time again to get many computer consultants just like you more sustainable revenue, better clients and a better overall plan for the future of your business.

Three Success Stories from the Computer Consulting Kit

“By applying your information to my marketing program, I increased my sales to $80,000 last year and over $100,000 this year.  

Thanks to the Computer Consulting Kit, my income is back in the six figures.”

-    John Lindbloom, A+, Network+, Server+, TCC, MCP, PC Netbuilder Plus, Brookfield and Franklin, Wisconsin, USA
Founded:  2001
Specialties:  Microsoft Small Business Server

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This brought me $23,000."

- Robert Rains, Gibraltar Systems Computer Consulting, Lowell, Massachusetts

Founded:  2002

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Specialties:  Accredited HP Business Partner

The Bottom Line about the Computer Consulting Kit

Today we looked at three success stories from IT consultants that used the Computer Consulting Kit to jump-start their businesses.  To learn more about the Computer Consulting Kit, visit the attached link.

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Many IT consultants and other solution providers are talking about the new version of Microsoft Small Business Server.  While many were initially talking about the new pricing scheme and its “controversial” nature, Small Business Server 2008 and Windows Essential Business Server 2008 have many new features that will possibly make the product more interesting than its predecessor.

Microsoft Small Business Server and Essential Business Server will be marketed as part of a new group of products called “Essential Business Solutions” (which includes the recently released Windows Home Server).  

Some Features of Microsoft Small Business Server 2008

1.     A focus on primarily the small business market due to similarities between each product’s management console to create the same interface across the board that is very small business-friendly.  

2.    Bundled products, updated to the latest versions in Microsoft Small Business Server 2008.  Premium Edition purchasers will get SQL Server 2008 Standard Edition and all Small Business Server users will now be licensed to install SQL 2008 on a second server (the suite includes a second installation of Windows Server 2008 to help with the installation).  

3.    While a multi-core CPU is not necessary, users of Microsoft Small Business Server 2008 will need at least a high-end single core CPU and 4GB of RAM.   

4.    New software.  Microsoft Small Business Server 2008 will get a new administrative console that follows the tab-based UI paradigm seen in Windows Home Server with multiple tabs for many different functions.

The new Microsoft Small Business Server 2008 offers many other features that can be read about by visiting the attached link.  

Submitted By:  Computer Consulting Kit

Microsoft recently released new information about Microsoft Small Business Server – it is now offering customers and partners to evaluate pre-release versions of the software.  The software has already been in the testing phase, and many small and midsize business owners have been discussing the performance of Windows Small Business Server 2008 and Windows Essential Business Server 2008.

Three partners discussed their experiences with Microsoft Small Business Server:

Sumeeth Evans, director of IT for Collegiate Housing Services said that the new program decreased the workload for administrative tasks by about 90%, marking the largest increase in productivity that any technology and business management tool has offered.

Dave Benson, founder and CFO of Epicurean Cutting Surfaces has been using the improved Microsoft Small Business Server 2008 and said that it has helped him get rid of wasted time so his cutting board and kitchen utensil company can focus on its business goals and also increase its reach to a global market.

Erik Thorsell, president of Success Computer Consulting based in Minneapolis, Minnesota said that the two new versions of Microsoft Small Business Server are more user-friendly for both IT consultants and small business users.  They have helped his clients work more effectively while mobile or at their home bases.

The new version of Microsoft Small Business Server will be available to the public later this year.  For more information on how you can work with this new software, visit the attached link. 

Added By:  Computer Consulting Kit