With Windows Home Server, Microsoft is looking to tap a market of over 40 million households, 15 million of which only in the United States. Scheduled to hit the market in the second half of 2007, Windows Home Server will be initially bundled with HP's MediaSmart Server, but solutions from AMD, Inventec and Quanta will become available, and "do it yourself-ers" will also be able to access to WHS.

"When we set out to prove a business case for building Windows Home Server we scoured all of the existing secondary research data and decided to focus on households with a broadband connection with 2 or more "active" PCs that are sharing the Internet connection," revealed Todd Headrick, Product Planner for the Microsoft Windows Home Server.

Microsoft has done its homework since Windows Home Server was first conceived in mid-2005. According to Microsoft's data, the average households have three active machines running Windows XP Home and Professional. And while more than 90% own a digital camera and more than 95% have a color printer, with 70% also deploying a gaming console, only 20% of them are satisfied with their backup solution.

"Our goal is to build a product that "enthusiasts" will love, but that is also easy-to-use and approachable for the "enthused followers". As we know from the research that only a little over 1/3 of those broadband connected households with 2 or more PCs actually has an "enthusiast" that lives there," added Headrick.

Joel Sider, PR Manager for Home Server welcomed the feedback Microsoft began to receive following the showcasing of Windows Home Server at the CES in January 2007 in Las Vegas.