My version of this was the realization that Windows NT Server was not any more suited to being a server, at least not due to any inherent magic.

NT Server was something MSFT could market to enterprise customers for big dollars. It did have meaningful tools for Active Directory and administering a Domain... but if you're a person and not an IT department, it's a safe bet that you'd end up using exactly zero of those tools.

TL;DR: they could have named it Expensive Corporate Seat Licencing Edition.