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Technology Stocks : How high will Microsoft fly? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Brian Sullivan who wrote (50029)	9/26/2000 5:01:05 PM
From: Brian Sullivan	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 74651

Microsoft Windows Datacenter Program - All Systems Go Industry Partners Deliver Wide Range of Datacenter Products and Services Exceeding Customer Requirements SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Today at the Microsoft Enterprise 2000 Launch, Steve Ballmer, president and CEO of Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT - news), together with industry partners kicked off the availability of the Windows® Datacenter Program. The launch marks the delivery of Microsoft's and industry partners' joint commitment to provide customers with the best business investment for mission-critical computing environments. Industry partners announcing solutions today include Compaq Computer Corp., Unisys Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., Dell Computer Corp., IBM Corp., Stratus Computer Systems, Amdahl Corp., ICL and Fujitsu Siemens. Windows 2000 Datacenter Server, coupled with the Microsoft® .NET enterprise servers, represents a significant step toward the delivery of the .NET Platform. In addition, Microsoft launched the Datacenter Infrastructure Vendor Program (DIV) to qualify strategic infrastructure vendors such as enterprise storage and enterprise backup vendors. The DIV provides customers with additional choice while preserving overall system integrity. ``With the delivery of the Windows Datacenter Program, we have changed the way we do business,'' Ballmer said. ``Microsoft has teamed with industry leaders to provide innovative technology and broad alternatives to expensive proprietary systems, offering customers uncompromising reliability, flexibility and scalability.'' ``Windows 2000 Datacenter Server will finally allow Microsoft to make a legitimate bid for new datacenter business opportunities,'' said Al Gillen, research manager for system software at International Data Corp. ``Combining the operating system with the certification and support infrastructure that Microsoft and partners have built helps position Windows Datacenter Server as a viable alternative to many UNIX-based solutions and makes it possible for companies to extend Windows 2000 computing into their enterprise environments.'' Customer Requirements Exceeded With Windows Datacenter Program Today's enterprises are embracing the Windows Datacenter Program to achieve greater reliability, scalability and availability over other existing datacenter solutions. Key customer benefits include faster time to market, improved price/performance and the freedom to select from a range of datacenter offerings by their choice of hardware vendor. Case studies highlighting key customer wins can be found at microsoft.com . ``FreeMarkets is the leading B2B e-marketplace, conducting auctions worth millions of dollars each day, and there isn't a market if our system goes down,'' said Bill Blair, senior vice president and CTO at FreeMarkets. ``We chose the Windows Datacenter Program over proprietary systems to ensure our global e-marketplace would scale up and out in addition to boosting our system uptime from 99.9 percent to 99.999 percent. We are ensuring buyers and suppliers that our system won't fail, and we anticipate a six-month payback on our investment.'' Industry Forces Rally to Provide Enterprises With Greater Flexibility and Choice Windows 2000 Datacenter Server is now available and only offered through Authorized Datacenter Partners as part of the Windows Datacenter Program. Authorized partners currently include Amdahl, Compaq, Dell, Fujitsu Siemens, HP, IBM, ICL, Stratus and Unisys. Each is bringing to market its specific configurations and solution offerings. The VeriTest Labs opened today to begin application certification testing for Windows 2000 Datacenter Server. This certification extends the existing certification process for the Windows 2000 operating system, requiring that applications be rigorously tested to run on complete solutions qualified by the Windows Datacenter Program. Certification will provide customers with the assurance that these applications offer the highest levels of reliability and availability. About the Windows Datacenter Program The Windows Datacenter Program represents a complete combination of software, hardware and support services, giving today's enterprise a high level of reliability, scalability and serviceability for line-of-business e-commerce solutions and hosting environments. It has been designed to address the demanding requirements of enterprise customers and will include a joint support team with server vendors for single-point-of-contact support, rigorous system testing and qualification focused on the entire system vs. individual components, coordinated maintenance and change control for hardware and software updates, as well as a new Microsoft Certified Support Center (MCSC) for datacenter requirements.