"We swung the pendulum too far with that, and there were so many feature packs coming out the customers said they didn't know when to apply it, so R2 was motivated by that, said DiStasio, noting the Windows Server 2003 R2 represents a midcycle release. The update incorporates fixes as well as new features but makes no core changes to the operating system. so it won't require customers to do regression testing for all of their applications. "This is the happy medium."
He said NAP and RMS won't be included in R2 as originally promised, but other features such as storage resource management, support for branch offices and federation features, are more important to customers who sign up for Software Assurance.
One Microsoft global ISV said the reaction of customers depends on how they typically consume software. Some customers in the financial services industries gobble up new features and add-ons immediately, while manufacturing customers that value stability will wait years before upgrading after a server ships. But he agreed that the pressure is mounting on Microsoft.
"You're seeing pressure for more frequent deliveries on a consistent basis," said Ross Brown, worldwide director of channels at Citrix Systems, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. "Software maintenance is a contract and customers expect to be delivered value in the term of the contract."
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