News

Thursday 21st August - Redmond, Washington, USA:  Small Business Server 2008 was officially released to manufacturing.  What that means is that after years of development, SBS 2008 is finally baked and ready to come out of the oven! 

Correct Solutions have been testing SBS 2008 now for nearly two years, and we've had the chance to provide very real and direct feedback in the development of the product, so we know it will fit the needs of many of our clients.

In fact, we are the only reseller in Australia supported by Microsoft in placing one of our clients on the Technology Adoption Program (TAP), running SBS for some time now while it was still in the beta testing phase.
 
Our client, Bluedog Fences Australia, produce high quality fencing solutions that they control every aspect of; from their free quoting process right through to manufacture, supply and installation. 

With a broad reach across the country and over 50 staff, they service NSW including Sydney, the Central Coast, Newcastle, The Hunter, Tamworth, North West NSW, New England, the Central West and recently other Australian states.  Their range of tubular steel fencing products are manufactured in Tamworth from Australian made premium grade steel developed specifically for Australian conditions.

Bluedog was one of Correct Solutions' early adopters of SBS 2003 years ago and their hardware was at the end of its life, being over 4 years old and out of warranty maintenance.

Microsoft's Small Business Server is the key component of Bluedog's IT systems.  SBS, running along side a second server, provides the core for Terminal Server infrastructure.  This provides cost effective, secure, managed and reliable IT across multiple offices in Sydney and regional NSW; a factory in Tamworth and Sales and Installation teams that work right across NSW and beyond. 

These systems have served them well over the term of their implementation, but were showing their age in recent times - Bluedog suffered a hard drive failure just 24 hours before we commenced the migration to SBS 2008!

Marcus Rowell from Bluedog had the following to say about their relationship with Correct...

"For Bluedog, the key to SBS and our IT systems is having Correct Solutions.  Correct is a technology partner that has the technical skills and experience with SBS to protect our company's assets and provide an IT infrastructure that is reliable for daily operations."

"Correct's relationship with Microsoft enabled Bluedog to be part of the SBS 2008 TAP program which gave Bluedog early access to the upcoming SBS 2008 product, with a synergy that benefited Microsoft, Correct and Bluedog.  Microsoft was able to test its upcoming product in a real world scenario, Correct was able to test their methodology for deploying the new Server and we were able to gain early access to a product that provides numerous benefits to our business."

For Bluedog some of the key features in moving to SBS 2008 were;
• A new Remote Web Workplace that is more secure and yet easier for users
• Simplified management of Desktops and Laptops with daily reporting of their security status
• Upgraded core server systems, such as Windows 2008 and Exchange 2007 for reliability and security

When asked about Correct Solution's Network Care Plans, Marcus had this to say;

"Bluedog is transitioning to a fully managed Diamond Network Care Plan from Correct Solutions that formalises our relationship, allows us to utilise their skills and experience and enables Correct to take a proactive role in managing our business' IT network.   A flat rate for 2nd level help desk combined with a monthly onsite visit means our employees' issues get dealt with more effectively than if we had an in-house IT "specialist" who has another role in the business."

Ryan Spillane - Managing Director of Correct Solutions was equally pleased.  "It was a great opportunity for Correct to implement the products in a real world environment, not just the test platform.  The timing worked out perfectly for Bluedog considering our approval from Microsoft for the Technology Adoption Program (TAP) happened just when they needed a refresh." 

"Correct has done fixed price maintenance since 2000, however the new generation Network Care Plans mean our customers don't have to worry about their information technology anymore and can be focused on what they do best."

Wayne Small - SBS MVP and Technology Specialist for Correct Solutions was the key architect for the rollout.  He planned the migration to minimise the need to visit the remote offices and the impact on the business that comes with major network changes.  SBS 2008 now has its own migration wizard that makes it easier for us to perform the migration for the client.

The installation of the new SBS 2008 server is phase one of the network upgrades that are going to take place for Bluedog.  Shortly, Correct Solutions will be moving to virtualise the SBS 2008 Server and upgrade the Terminal Server to Windows Server 2008, all running on a Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V (Virtualisation) platform. The entire solution will run on one solid and reliable HP Server giving Bluedog increased levels of redundancy and reduced downtime in event of a disaster.