Microsoft continued its minimalistic approach to the latest versions of Windows, revealing Thursday that there will be only four versions of Windows Server 2012 – simplifying buying decisions but also eliminating some popular versions of the product’s previous incarnation.
Simpler Is Better
The four versions of Windows Server 2012 will be named Foundation, Essentials, Standard and Datacenter, ranging in price from $425 to $4,809. These prices represent Microsoft’s Open No Level pricing, Microsoft says, designed for businesses with fewer than 250 PCs. Larger companies will most likely qualify for additional “levels” of volume discounts, essentially making Microsoft’s published prices about the most a business can expect to pay.
Limiting choices to just four options represents a dramatic turnabout for Windows Server; in 2008, Microsoft announced a whopping 12 versions of Windows Server 2008 R2. The reduction in versions is also consistent with Microsoft’s streamlined approach to Windows 8, where Microsoft trimmed the number of versions from five (excluding Windows Starter Edition) to just two retail versions.
“We have worked to make it easier for customers to know what edition will work best for them when they purchase a new Windows 8 PC or upgrade their existing PC,” said Microsoft’s Brandon LeBlanc,
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