Home IT is looking more like business

Despite its name, Windows Home Server could play in business 

 

I’ve heard from Microsoft folks that Windows Home Server is getting stronger than expected interest from the system builder community.  And while Microsoft has consciously differentiated it from Small Business Server as Chris Pirillo reports , they may see small businesses adopt Home Server as an entry backup solution. 

This is because home and business IT needs are converging, with multi-PC households looking more and more like client/server business environments.  Simultaneously, businesses are feeling the effects of the consumer-led Digital Revolution, with content flooding their storage systems.

Are you adopting Windows Home Server in home or business?  How will you use it?

Windows Home Server – a channel storage play

A “no-brainer” central landing place for mushrooming home digital media 

Seagate announced today support for Microsoft’s Windows Home Server.  I’m excited because this product looks to create an easy landing place for the seemingly infinite digital media collecting in homes.  And Seagate’s got the storage products lined up to make WHS-based servers purr.  Check out our press release for more on this. 

Windows Home Server also looks to be a huge channel opportunity.  Unlike Xbox, Microsoft is letting others integrate the solutions.  HP and others are offering WHS-based devices, but you’ve got a window of opportunity (months? a year or two?) before WHS-based home servers are readily available in this relatively immature market.

Looks like an easy integration process.  You’re basically offering a storage-heavy PC-like system that sits on the home network.  It’s designed to be managed from existing PCs in the home, so you don’t need an additional keyboard and monitor. 

By outfitting the home server with 2 drives out of a possible 4 slots, you can give your customer enough capacity to meet current needs and position yourself as their “growth consultant”.  You leave them room to grow, which you can help them with over time with additional internal drives.  You can plug in external storage devices to expand further.

I’ve heard from people at Microsoft that limited-release versions of WHS sold out right away, with demand far beyond expectations.