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Karen Forster

Karen Forster was formerly editorial and strategy director for Windows IT Pro. She is currently director of media and communication at Advaiya and previously was director of Windows Server User Assistance at Microsoft.
Email: karen.forster@advaiya.com

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Author Articles

3 Costly IT Mistakes That Undermine Business Value

By Karen Forster, 02/23/2009

Karen Forster and Eric Zinn of Advaiya discuss the 3 most common mistakes that undermine IT's value to the business.

Is the World Ready for SQL Server 2008?

By Karen Forster, 11/12/2008

SBS 2008 and EBS 2008 Build on Knowledge Every IT Shop Needs

By Karen Forster, 10/29/2008

Microsoft's thorough research into what SMBs need in a network infrastructure led to easier installation and management for the latest version of Windows Small Business Server and ...

SBS 2008 and EBS 2008: The View from the Trenches

By Karen Forster, 10/29/2008

The wizard-based deployment and preinstallation tools that come with Small Business Server 2008 and Essential Business Server 2008 are a hit, but the cost and the migration ...

Microsoft’s Evolution Toward Software Plus Services

By Karen Forster, 10/29/2008

Can Microsoft balance the push toward hosted services with its traditional software products business plan?

SFU in R2

By Karen Forster, 10/08/2008

What Keeps IT Pros Awake at Night?

By Karen Forster, 09/26/2008

Microsoft’s Dynamic IT initiative is intended to increase efficiency. But will the end result be IT pros with more time to be strategic rather than reactive, or simply fewer IT ...

Microsoft’s Take on SBS 2008 Pricing

By Karen Forster, 09/11/2008

Responding to concerns that SBS 2008 is priced too high, Microsoft says that customer feedback led to a higher price point for the software but a lower price for CALs, resulting ...

Microsoft Responds to PolicyMaker Questions

By Karen Forster, 09/05/2008

Last may, reader Jeff Vandervoort wrote that Microsoft owes PolicyMaker users a migration plan. Now Microsoft has a response.

Microsoft’s SMB Products and Services

By Karen Forster, 08/27/2008

As IT spending in the SMB market increases, Microsoft focuses its efforts on related software and services, such as Windows Essential Business Server, Small Business Server, and ...

Recognizing Microsoft’s Fading Generation of Products

By Karen Forster, 07/28/2008

Karen acknowledges Server 2008, DPM 2007, and SCVMM 2008 for receiving Editors’ Best awards and examines Microsoft’s perspective on virtualization as it relates to a new ...

System Center to Support Linux and VMware

By Karen Forster, 07/09/2008

Making a Mesh of IT?

By Karen Forster, 06/26/2008

Find out how Live Mesh fits Microsoft’s Software Plus Services (S+S) strategy.

Tech Ed IT Pro Week Kicks Off with Dynamic IT

By Karen Forster, 06/10/2008

Tech Ed IT Pro week kicks off with Hyper-V and other announcements. But there are also mixed messages about IT pros and developers and about strategic vision, such as Dynamic IT, ...

Microsoft Owes PolicyMaker Users a Migration Plan

By Karen Forster, 05/28/2008

In response to "RSAT: windows Server 2008 Remote Server Admin Tools," a reader expresses frustration with Microsoft's support for PolicyMaker customers.

RSAT: Windows Server 2008 Remote Server Admin Tools

By Karen Forster, 05/27/2008

A Microsoft Senior Product Manager for Windows Vista management discusses Server 2008’s RSAT for Windows Vista SP1, highlighting RSAT’s Group Policy integration.

Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Togetherness

By Karen Forster, 04/28/2008

Microsoft’s product managers for Windows Server and Windows Client Deployment explain that customers who use Server 2008 and Vista together will benefit from improved performance, ...

System Center to Support Linux and VMware

By Karen Forster, 04/28/2008

In this exclusive interview, Microsoft's Brad Anderson and Larry Orecklin disclose groundbreaking developments from the Microsoft Management Summit regarding System Center support ...



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