Server Core Pricing Controversy

Server Core is one of the more talked-about aspects of Server 2008. For those of you who don't know, it's a stripped-down version of the Server product without the Graphical User Interface. No taskbar, no Start menu, no desktop, etc. - although some tools do present a GUI (Notepad, REGEDIT, date-and-time control panel).

A lot of people have commented in my classes about the pricing. Microsoft doesn't cut you a deal on Server Core. It's the same price as the "full" Server 2008 products. Those organizations using Software Assurance don't really care, but smaller companies paying per-product license costs have expressed some curiosity about why a product with fewer features costs the same as the "full boat" products.

I tend to be curious, too. Sure, Server Core has less to break, patch, and administer; it also has the potential to be somewhat less demanding of hardware. (Hmm, almost sounds like an argument for UNIX...) However, charging the same price for Server Core is a little bit like a car manufacturer charging the same price for a car without power steering, power windows, and power locks as for a car with all those options: there's less to break, less to fix, and the lower weight means you'll get better gas mileage!

Whether the logic of Microsoft's pricing strategy holds water, personally I think the company has missed an opportunity to gain widespread acceptance for Server Core in small business markets by pricing it aggressively. A lot of non-technical folks who sign the checks are going to balk at spending the same bucks for a more limited product. Selling Server Core for half price would have been a bold move that would have gotten a lot more copies of Server Core out into small companies. I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on the matter.

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