Microsoft Windows Home Server Heads on Its Way

[Sunite]

Microsoft Windows Home Server Heads on Its Way
By Richard Koman
July 17, 2007 5:03PM

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Industry analyst and Microsoft watcher Michael Gartenberg said he thinks Microsoft Windows Home Server "couldn't come at a better time." He suggested that the new Windows Home Server platform, which is headed to OEM partners this week, will provide an easy way for home computer users to protect their data by backing up PCs and laptops to a server.

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   Microsoft Relevant Products/Services announced Monday that it has completed its Windows Home Server (WHS) software and released the code to its OEM partners, including HP and Gateway, just six months after unveiling the project.

New products based on the Windows Home Server software will enable PC users to store, backup, and share content among their networked machines, including those running Apple and Linux operating systems, as well as Windows.

"They've done a really good job with Windows Home Server," said Michael Gartenberg, who covers Microsoft for Jupiter Research, adding that it "couldn't come at a better time."

"Fifty percent of U.S. households have more than one PC," he said, and "more and more households need a way to share and protect their data."

Vision and Execution

Given that it usually takes several years to move a major software project from vision to shipping code, some might say that WHS demonstrates Microsoft foresight to see the opportunity created by the ever-expanding volume of digital data on home PCs. But the problem at Microsoft in recent years -- most obviously with the delays in shipping Vista -- has not been vision but execution, said Gartenberg.

At Friday's team party to celebrate hitting their RTM (release to manufacturing) goal, Charlie Kindel, general manager for WHS, emphasized the work it took to ship on time and the importance of involving customers in the development process.

"We had a spirit of getting it done, no matter what. We broke some rules but never any laws," he toasted in a blog post. "We took a few risks... and they paid off."

To Serve and Protect

WHS is a major product, Gartenberg said, because it addresses both what consumers want to do -- sharing personal collections of digital photos, movies, and music around different machines at home -- with what they need to do -- protecting those large collections of irreplaceable data.

In the product's original press release in May, Microsoft made clear its plan for the capabilities of Windows Home Server to span far beyond simple media-sharing.

"Windows Home Server offers independent software vendors tremendous opportunities to build innovative products," Microsoft said. At the same time, the release predicted that WHS could become an asset "for the digital home," with features including virus and malware Relevant Products/Services protection, as well as home security Relevant Products/Services applications, and the ability to serve as a hub for home automation.

"There are tons of consumers who are storing music and pictures on PCs and aren't backing it up," Gartenberg said. Plus, he added, there is the issue of "wanting to go from analog to digital." He suggested that WHS provides an easy way for consumers to protect their data by backing up their PCs and laptops to a server.

When Microsoft's partners release products in the fall, there will be options for a range of buyers. Some will release "white-box" products, where you just take it home and plug it in, while others will release more bare-bones bundles.

Microsoft also announced that Iomega and Fujitsu-Siemens Computers have signed up to sell WHS products, joining Gateway, HP, Lacie, and Medion.