Microsoft had several tents, booths, and announcements at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show. With the eminent arrival of Vista, Microsoft was anxious to get their name associated with as many electronic trends possible.
One of their announcements, the Windows Home Server, should be a boon to families and small businesses that store digital files, documentation, and data on multiple computers. This system allows the user to share their information and back it up easily.
Paul Thurrott has a nice summary of these features on his site: Windows Home Server Preview
When you think about the market for a home server-type product, you obviously need to consider how many people there are out there who would want and could take advantage of such a product. According to Microsoft, the market for WHS is quite big: There are over 40 million people worldwide that have broadband access and 2 or more PCs at home. They’ve got important data stored on those PCs, including digital memories (photos and videos), work and personal documents, financial data, and more.
The problem, of course, is that as more and more people use PCs to store their important data, the user base, overall, gets less and less technical, and the needs of the market migrate down to the mainstream. For this reason, WHS needs to serve the needs of average users as well as more advanced users (you guys). What Microsoft expects is that most of the people who acquire the first version of WHS will be enthusiasts. But they’ll be so excited about the product that they’ll evangelize it to others. And the product needs to work for these people.
With over two and a half years in active development, WHS has undergone a dramatic UI simplification. Though it is based on Windows Server 2003 R2, the product features a very simple, tabbed user interface from which there are only simple, plain English choices with few knobs and buttons. It doesn’t ask unanswered questions, and it’s not as complex as a car dashboard, let alone the Space Shuttle cockpit. Marketing to families is somewhat visionary. But making it actually work is, perhaps, miraculous. From what I’ve seen of the UI, Microsoft may just pull it off.
However, Microsoft plans to release this product to the general public later this year. It requires purchasing the software as well as new equipment or repurposing an old computer. Will this be a successful Microsoft product?
What are the existing alternatives?
GoogleBase is an online database that allows users to upload information and content for free. Amazon’s S3 also provides backup and storage opportunities for very low cost with more privacy. There are dozens of online backup services catering to families and businesses. Will Microsoft create a new market with Windows Home Server’s built-in functionality? Or will it be another case of Microsoft launching a project little too late?