In their quest for all things Metro - sorry - "Modern UI" - Microsoft has opted to boot not only Windows 8, but also all Windows Server 2012 GUI versions directly into the ridiculous Start Screen.
It's the opinion of most administrators that this is pointless and annoying on servers.
Thankfully, there is a workaround for this, unlike on Windows 8 where they have now actively blocked this.
Find out the detail's and a quick and easy Powershell script at the EXPTA blog.