14 DAY TRIAL // After gagging all details related to the next version of its Windows client, Microsoft opened up a bit in an effort to distract consumers from their frustration with the lack of information on Windows 7. The fact that the Redmond company's representatives said little to nothing at all is less relevant, they managed to create an incessant chatter about Windows 7, and give out the impression that they were communicating details on the successor of Windows Vista. Still, the anodyne details Microsoft managed to spare from the translucent Windows 7 feast, are intimately connected wit just the next iteration of the Windows client. The software giant continues to remain mute on Windows 7 Server, the platform that will follow Windows Server 2008 on the market.
Make no mistake about it, Windows 7 Server is cooking over at Microsoft. Case in point: a Windows 7 Server Feature Demonstration for Business Scanning is planned for the Windows Rally Technologies next week, behind close doors and with a Non-Disclosure Agreement lid sealed tight on top. I have contacted Microsoft on the Windows 7 Server reference in the Rally Summit Agenda. I asked the Redmond company to confirm Windows 7 Server, to reveal whether the product is in pre-beta, or at least to give a hint of the development status, to elaborate a tad on the Business Scanning feature, to point to an availability date, and to comment on any connections with the Windows 7 client.
Now anyone who has had to deal with Microsoft through its official channels knows that there are slim chances to get an answer especially on products developed under the leadership of Steven "Don't Call Me Transparent" Sinofsky, the Senior Vice President, Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group. But Microsoft manages to come out with a standard PR-mode answer indicating that they are hard at work on new versions of their current products. Not this time, though. The Redmond company is not ready to say anything about Windows 7 Server. They simply declined to answer any of the questions brought to them.
But did they really need to answer? Well, not really. The fact that Microsoft is actually demoing a Windows 7 Server feature proves that the next version of the Windows Server operating system is in development. Since Windows 7 is in pre-beta, and with Windows Server 2008 having been wrapped up only on February 4, 2008, Windows 7 Server cannot be that far ahead in the planning process. However, the most interesting aspects are the availability date and the connection with the Windows 7 client.
With Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008, the synchronization between the Windows client and server platforms is evident, since they share not only the same codebase but also the Service Pack 1 label. In this regard, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 will get updated via Service Pack 2 simultaneously. Whether Microsoft continues with a close synchronization strategy moving ahead remains to be confirmed, but one thing that the company doesn't want is disparate Windows client and server products, as the case with Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 was.
Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer pointed to the end of 2009 as a potential release date for Windows 7. To expect Windows 7 Server at the end of the next year, however, might not make as much sense as for Windows 7, since Windows Server 2008 has been on the market for just three months, and even for the client platform, Microsoft needs a development process spanning almost three years. In this context, consumers might look at another case of Vista SP1 - Windows Server 2008 SP1/RTM but, this time, with Windows 7 and Windows 7 Server taking centerstage.