Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer unveiled Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008 to an audience of 4,000 customers and partners at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles, CA, yesterday. The top four benefits of Server 2008, Ballmer stated, are virtualization, more server roles like Server Core, embedded high availability, and new energy-efficient features.

Combined, this triple whammy constitutes the biggest wave of enterprise products in company history for Microsoft.

Windows Server 2008, including a beta version of the Hyper-V virtualization technology, and Visual Studio 2008 became available yesterday. The feature-complete, February community technology preview of SQL Server 2008 is also available, with general availability expected in the third quarter of 2008.

“IT professionals and developers tell us they spend too much time and money managing existing systems and not enough investing in new capabilities that create strategic advantage,” Ballmer said.

“That feedback is at the core of the innovations in this new wave of products. Already, the overwhelming response from thousands of IT professionals and developers around the world is that this is the most secure enterprise platform we have ever delivered, and that it will simplify management and enable them to focus more on driving their businesses forward.”