Yesterday we brought you news of HP and Microsoft teaming up to bring Windows SBS 2011 Essentials to the HP ProLiant Microserver next month.
Microsoft’s Michael Leworthy and HP’s Brad Kirby discuss the partnership in this video from Microsoft Tech-Ed, demoing three new features – anew Windows Phone 7 application that allows you to manage users and your SBS Essentials servers, a connector for third party cloud backup, and finally Group Policy functionality that allows administrators to setup offline folder and security policy on Windows 7 Professional clients. There’s also a demo of the forthcoming DataCore DriveHarmony storage pooling add-in for Windows Home Server, which will also be released for Microsoft’s entry-level small business server platform.
Sources at HP told us that SBS Essentials will be available initially as a configuration option from their reseller partners, and will require a 1GB RAM upgrade from the base specification. In the late summer, expect to see the platform pre-installed on hardware, with a new specification in the offing.
According to Microsoft, the first beta of the Windows Phone 7 app will be available in 3-4 weeks.
More: TechNet Edge
