Windows Server 2008 R2 review

Every size of organisation will benefit from the improvements. There have been changes made for branch office operation, and much work has been done to optimise inter-site network traffic. Getting business laptops to connect in without resorting to complex VPNs is a done deal, thanks to Direct Access technology, and the whole presence and person management has never been better. Finding someone in your organisation, for example, should now be a mere click away. Establishing phone, video, chat conferencing is a breeze, and it is here that much of the benefits surface in daily use.

However, not everything is sweetness and light. The costs and licensing implications are enough to make your head explode, and the number of SKUs has reached frankly ridiculous proportions. Licensing has never been more complicated and confusing, and Microsoft simply must make sweeping changes to simplify the mess. More confusion makes for unhappy customers.

If you can wade through the licensing treacle, and make sense of the final invoice, then there is no better business platform today.