General Meeting - Small Business Server & Managed Services

SBS 2008; EBS 2008; &  an Intro to Managed Services

Many of us are involved with small or medium sized businesses (SMB) which wish they could have the feature set that the big businesses get with Microsoft Windows Server. Features like e-mail, databases, Sharepoint, etc. But Windows Server seems to be out of their league, both in cost and complexity. Microsoft responded with Small Business Server (SBS) and the new Essential Business Server (EBS). These products have a much lower price point and are easier to setup. OK, you’re thinking this sounds good, but SMBs don’t have the staff expertise or the time to manage the system on an on-going basis. Enter Managed Services, where you can out-source your IT Department.
Join us on Saturday, November 8th in Cleveland State University’s Main Classroom Building, as Bob Coppedge and Cary Hetzel of Simplex-IT as demo and explain SBS, EBS and Managed Services:

SBS 2008: This new release (Small Business Server) brings the power of Windows Server 2008, Exchange 2007 and SQL Server 2008 together in a product that’s aimed at companies with 75 or fewer devices or users.

EBS 2008: This brand new product (Essential Business Server) is aimed at larger organizations, 300 desktops and fewer. On the surface, it looks like SBS’s big brother. However, there are some key differences that make it a tremendous option for organizations that already have a Window Domain, but need to upgrade a level (or two).

Managed Services: Businesses in the SMB market have a challenge making the most of their IT resources. They’re too big to fly by the seat of their pants, but not big enough to be able to afford full-time staff with enough knowledge to really give them a strategic edge. Managed Services is a relatively new concept for the SMB market. It’s a philosophy that offers proactive and reactive solutions to computer network and infrastructure such as monitoring support to assure that the network is safe and secure, 24 hours a day.

As part of our discussion, we’ll also touch on some of the new benefits of Exchange 2007, Windows Server 2008 and SQL Server 2005. Plus, there are a lot of new licensing changes that are also introduced with SBS 2008 and EBS 2008. SBS 2008 and EBS 2008 both present some great technologies and great value.

Bob Coppedge has been President of the GCPCUG on and off for seven years. He’s the CEO of Simplex-IT, a Microsoft Small Business Specialist Certified Partner. Bob’s certifications in the Microsoft world are as varied as the letters that follow his name. Bob is also a founding member of the Microsoft Small Business Advisory Council, a group of about 15 Microsoft Partners that work with Microsoft to develop better programs for the SMB market. Cary Hetzel has shown the dubious wisdom of joining Simplex-IT, where he works with their customers, ensuring their infrastructure’s performance. Simplex-IT’s web site is www.Simplex-IT.com, and Bob’s email address is Bob@Simplex-IT.com.

As always, there will be some giveaways (can you say “Glitter Rocket?”) and some of Bob’s humor that, hasn’t changed for the better at all.