Windows Server 2008 to ship with SP1

Have you ever heard someone say that they wouldn't deploy a Microsoft product until the arrival of service pack 1? Well, apparently the folks in Redmond have heard that line just as many times as we have. Microsoft has just announced that when Windows Server 2008 sees release, in just a few short weeks, it will come packed-in with the first service pack from the get-go. According to Ian McDonald, director of project management for Windows Server, the simultaneous delivery of Windows Server 2008 and SP1 represents the culmination of years of planning at Microsoft. "...Microsoft has actually been attempting to synchronize its client/server release schedule for most of the past decade." With Windows Server 2008, the company will finally be working off of the same codebase for both its server and desktop operating systems. Will the SP1 moniker be enough to convince enterprises that Windows Server 2008 is worthy of deployment? Or will most businesses still elect to wait for the first post-release service pack? Let us know what you think in the comments.

For more on Windows Server 2008 SP1:
- see this Ars Technica article