"That said, competitively, Microsoft should watch IBM's small
business server appliance package because:
* Office alternative Symphony is bundled along with Lotus
Notes.
* IBM cut a virtualization deal with VMware—for businesses
needing to run Windows applications.
* A single appliance can be provisioned up to 500 clients,
whereas Microsoft's Small Business Server caps at 75 users and
Essential Business Server at 300.
* The business model is more subscription-like, which should
appeal to channel partners and customers, particularly in these
times of economic uncertainty.
* IBM claims low-touch setup and supporting services (such as
domain management and ISV software updates); the server software
dials up every 12 hours for these."
