Kevin Royalty is a Microsoft SBS-MVP, who has been a promoter of Windows Home Server for use in small businesses when this operating system became available in the marketplace. Recently, Kevin gave a presentation to the Greater Cleveland PC Users Group on the use of WHS v1 and Vail (WHS v2) in the home and in the small business environment.
For those who peruse WGS on a regular basis, you know the benefits of having WHS in your home. To learn a bit of the thought process behind the use of WHS in the business place, check out this interview of Kevin by Dan Hanson of GreatLakesGeek.com.
A second video can also be viewed on the GreatLakesGeek website. A couple of excellent PDF files are also available that provide a lot of interesting information on both WHS v1 and Vail. Many of the points may be well know, and some points may not be.
A question could very easily be asked as to how a HOME server product could be important to a small business and the SBS industry. Perhaps the following chart, from the US Census Bureau, can help answer that question.
With nearly 2/3 of the firms in the US having 1 to 9 employees, the need for a *simple* server product like WHS can easily be seen. Who needs SBS 2003 or 2008 with the kinds of features (and maintenance costs) associated with these server systems when a WHS can fill the needs of this size of business.
It is a result of the visionary thinking of Kevin, and others, of the benefits of WHS in the business place that we find such current WHS v1 products as the HP Data Vault product line. This is why we are seeing products like Aurora being developed. To be viable in many a small business, one must reduce the initial costs, product complexity, and maintenance costs associated with a full blown server operating system.
